Tavern closes after decades of business
It’s the end of an era for pub patrons in the Palmerston North suburb of Cloverlea as their watering hole shuts up shop.
Sunday was the last day to get a pint at the Cloverlea Tavern, owner Jordan Winiata-haines said.
He still had possession of the site for two weeks, and was working on finding a new home for the tavern.
Noise control complaints during gigs were behind the move, he said.
Furthermore, the land and building was being sold by its owner, Winiata-haines said.
While he would not own the next version of the Cloverlea Tavern, he said he would be involved.
He could not give more details about what was happening to the current site, nor where exactly the tavern would be moving to, as it was ‘‘all legally tied up at the moment’’.
Patrons at the pub were happy to share memories and talk about their favourite watering hole.
Trevor Avery said he often visited the Cloverlea for ‘‘peace of mind and company and occasionally getting a bit tiddly’’.
Avery said he had been going to the tavern as a regular for the past four or five years, but first visited it decades ago, back in his ‘‘prime’’.
He remembers the Cloverlea being popular for a ‘‘good fight and a quick beer’’, back in the day, he said.
But, today, pubs were a ‘‘dying breed’’.
‘‘It’s become hard for the average working person to drink in the [first] place because of the [crackdown on] drink-driving.’’
Joe Eru said it was a shame the tavern was closing.
He believed the pub first opened in 1974, and had about six different owners over the years.
Eru, known as Poppa Joe, has driven the pub’s courtesy van in the past. He also has dressed up as Santa Claus for the past few Christmas parties, he said.
The popular nights at the Cloverlea were Fridays and Saturdays, with locals and travellers stopping in for a cold brew, he said.
Eru said the drinking culture had changed, with police cracking down on drink-drivers.
Patron John Foss said it was ‘‘a real shame’’ that the Cloverlea was closing.
‘‘There’s nothing going around here for miles.’’
He said a lot of patrons lived in the Cloverlea and Highbury areas and walked to the pub.
‘‘I just think that with this closure it’s going to tempt a lot of people in these areas to jump in their cars and drive.’’
But others would likely stay home and drink, which had become a bit of a norm among young people, he said.
‘‘It’s a shame – [big] pubs are a dying business now.’’