Duo of café sites on busy cycle trail

Two separately operating foodservice operations near one of New Zealand’s busiest rail trail cycle tracks have been placed on the market.

The two venues in the Thames Valley town of Paeroa were closed shortly after the second Covid-19 lockdown was initiated in August 2021 but have been maintained immaculately during their subsequent ‘dormant’ phase.

They are in a ‘turn-key’ state ready to once again become functioning businesses. A side gate and private sealed right-of-way link the two premises.

Known as the Red Tractor Kitchen & Deli’, and the Red Tractor Café, the two premises comprise virtually all of the required commercial infrastructure and chattels to once again serve up food and beverage offerings.

The Red Tractor Kitchen & Deli’ is located at 4 Arney Street, and previously specialised in the retailing of takeaway food along with gourmet items such as pickles, chutneys, cheeses and accompaniments.

Sitting on a 331-square metre site, the business is housed within a 54-square metre building whose interior décor replicates a provincial French farmhouse deli’ – with reclaimed timber fittings, and rustic cabinetry and shelving.

Included with the sale is a shipping container utilised as storage, along with a recently added utility building that has been configured for office use - which frees up space inside the main building to give more room for food preparation and showcasing produce.

The building’s painted concrete floor with deco stencilling adds a further element of rural authenticity to the retailing experience.

The Arney Street building dates back to the 1880s when it was established as a butchery. It was subsequently run as a butchery by descendants of the same family for more than 100 years.

Remnants off the original butchery are still evident in the building today – with a concrete workbench now repurposed in the kitchen.

Around the corner at 124 Normanby Road is sister food operation Red Tractor Café serving a range of cabinet food, teas, and barista coffees – with seating for up to 34 patrons both indoors and in a private rear courtyard.

The eatery is housed in a 120-square metre building sitting on a 151-square metre location in the middle of a retail block which includes a gourmet sausage butchery.

With a large commercial production kitchen at the rear of the premises, the Red Tractor Kitchen & Deli venue previously produced virtually all the menu items sold at the neighbouring more high-profile Red Tractor Café.

Normanby Road is the main arterial route through the centre of Paeroa – with some 9,549 daily vehicle movements in both directions outside the property’s front door.

Located at the intersection of State Highways 2 and 26, Paeroa has particularly prospered since the opening of the Karangahake Gorge Waihi-to-Paeroa leg of the Hauraki Rail Trail cycle route in 2013. The gravelled track is one of the most popular one-day rides in New Zealand’s cycle network – a fact which the two foodservice sites have benefitted from.

Now the two freehold properties in Arney Street and Normanby Road, along with the full complement of chattels which previously sustained the pair of Red Tractor branded food and beverage entities, are being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Waikato, with the tender closing on November 3.

Bayleys Waikato salesperson Josh Smith said the two businesses had been trading successfully before closing last year.

“The vendors have initiated a rigorous maintenance and cleaning schedule to keep the venues looking like they closed just yesterday,” said Smith.

“The two properties and their chattels are being marketed as one offering, however the vendor would look at selling them individually.

“The permutations allow for the two Red Tractor venues to operate independently of each other but utilsing the production kitchen to sustain both the retail site and the café, or for the businesses to be split into separate entities.

“Both the café and the deli’ had loyal consumer followings before they shut, and the Paeroa locals are eagerly looking forward to welcoming back the two businesses.”

Smith said that with some modifications for customer movements, there was potential to expand the Arney Street operation into a fully functioning café or licensed bar – with an ample gravelled yard space on one side of the property suitable for outdoor seating and tables. Both addresses are zoned Commercial 8A under the Hauraki District Council plan.

- Article supplied by Bayleys