The Waitahuna Station Goods Shed Cafe has been quietly buzzing this summer, following a soft opening in December to allow owners Ailsa Rose and Bob Corona to gauge interest.
The couple began restoring the heritage-protected building and neighbouring Waitahuna Railway Station in 2017, with a view to one day opening the goods shed as a cafe.
Mrs Rose said she was "still pinching herself" now the business was finally open in the fully restored shed, which was the only round-roofed railway goods shed in its original location in the South Island.
The station and surrounding land had been in her family since 1968, although the family’s connection to the Waitahuna area — and the station itself — went back much further, she said.
"My grandfather John Murray Rose met my grandmother, then Mary Young, on the railway platform as she arrived to teach at the school around 1935. Although there was a 30-year age gap, they fell in love and were married a year later.
"I think they would have been chuffed to bits to see everything brought back to life again some 90 years later."
Mr Corona said the lengthy genesis of the cafe was due to a complex restoration combined with a wish to make the building functional for staff and customers.
"We wanted it to be as authentic as possible, and to combine heritage and functionality. We had a lot of help from our building team of David and Robyn Barkman, who’ve helped give the buildings a second life, and enabled us to share them with the wider public."
Mrs Rose said the couple were "playing it by ear" during the cafe’s first year, assessing what customers wanted, what worked and what did not.
She said local customers had been "hugely supportive" during the opening month for the cafe, which employed about a dozen local staff, seating 50 inside and 50 out.
Mr Corona speculated the sleepy rural town had not seen so many visitors since it came to life following the discovery of gold in nearby Lawrence, in the 1860s. "Now we’re ready for the next gold rush."
