Blenheim pub owner ready to hand over
One of Marlborough’s longest serving publicans is looking to ease his lifestyle, having put his pub on the market.
Warren Croft purchased Fairweathers on Scott in 2008, and several upgrades and thousands of pints later, he has decided it is time to sell up.
‘‘I first purchased Fairweathers with a good friend; we came in, completely gutted it and rebuilt it into what it is today,’’ Croft said.
He has owned several Marlborough pubs – his first was Woodbourne Tavern in 1990.
‘‘I had the Marlborough Hotel there at one stage with Calvin Fowler, we owned that, turned that into a backpackers and realised we were probably 10 years ahead of our time.
‘‘So we turned it back to what is now the Quality Hotel [Marlborough].’’
He had turned Fairweathers into a successful cafe which opened at 7.30am before it morphed into a restaurant and pub in the evenings. Croft said that despite business going well, he felt he needed to free up some time and relax.
‘‘It is actually a very good business but hospitality is one of those things where you can’t come at it half committed.
‘‘It is a good time but it is also a lot of work; there was a stage there that I was working open till close.
‘‘You either really enjoy it or you really don’t.’’
Over the past three years, Croft said, he had made further upgrades to the interior.
‘‘We have replaced all of the TVS, the air-conditioning units; we built that beautiful big back deck and put in the outdoor bar.’’
They had also leased a catering kitchen in Sutherland Terrace, which is included in the sale.
‘‘It is set for someone to come in and put their mark on the place,’’ Croft said.
‘‘It is a great reason for someone to move to sunny Marlborough, I think it might be time for someone younger.’’
He said he was lucky to have the staff he had, including events manager Tineka Smith.
‘‘The beauty of it is I have such supportive staff, including Tineka who has been with me for 20 years now, she is supportive of what I am doing and wants to stay on,’’ he said.
An accountant by trade, Croft said he might look to pick that up again once the business had been sold.
Fairweathers is for sale by negotiation through Harcourts Marlborough.