Mates and meat in Mõkau
Jane Matthews finds out why the owners of this butchery are selling up.
In between two gorges and two tunnels in a small coastal town you’ll come across what appears to be New Zealand’s loneliest butchery - and it’s for sale.
But owners Graham and Gloria Putt don’t feel that way. They say every customer of the Mo¯kau Butchery - and they have a fair few - is a mate.
Whether their customers are one of the many who stop and buy whitebait on their way to and from Taranaki, or who make a twohour-long Sunday drive just to pick up some of what they claim are New Zealand’s best sausages, or returning Mo¯ kau holidaymakers, or locals, they’re greeted the same by the Putts with a smile.
Meeting people has been the secret to their success, though it can’t hurt that the next closest place to buy meat is an hour south or an hour north.
Over the past 28 years the Putts have built up the business. It’s steady all year round with whitebait and home-kill seasons and made $200,000 in the last year alone.
They are kept occupied every day and occasionally have after hours requests - after all, there’s a sign on the butchery door welcoming customers to come up to their house if the butchery is closed.
Graham has even helped a hungry, drunk local during the early hours of the morning. And despite the fact the man had no money at the time, Graham went down and got him some meat.
‘‘You’re more mates with them than they are clients,’’ Graham said.
‘‘They keep coming back and back and back,’’ Gloria said.
Graham has even had international visitors compliment his sausages - one Swiss couple came to Mo¯ kau because they’d been told stories about the sausages.
He even had a friend hear a conversation on a Canadian radio station about the world’s best sausages coming from Mo¯ kau.
If you couldn’t already guess, the most popular item is the lowfat sausages - which the Putts think are the best in New Zealand as well as old-fashioned bacon.
Graham calls making these items an art. They also sell a lot of whitebait during the season.
But the business wasn’t always busy. The Putts have put in years of effort to get where they are today.
Graham said when they first bought the business 28 years ago they had few customers.
‘‘I sat here until the middle of August and no one was talking to me.’’
He decided to take action and offered to help a local man with some hay bales.
‘‘That’s when it started, when I got out to meet people.’’
Gloria said they tried lots of little extra things in the first 10 years of owning the business.
They even sold plants which occasionally overtook the meat profits.
However, since then they have made an extra $20,000 each year, Gloria said. The pair have seen many changes through the years, including people’s taste in meat.
Graham said they used to sell a whole beast easily but now it’s mainly steak, sausages and bacon that sell well.
However, he said with their stock, you’d never go hungry in Mo¯ kau.
‘‘We’ve got all the cuts of meat; you’ve just got to understand that some of it’s frozen.’’
‘‘But it’s just as good as the day it was done,’’ Gloria added.
The Putts’ business and house have been on the market for about a year since the couple decided they wanted to retire. However, that’s not all you’ll get for the $450,000 they’re asking for.
The pair plan to hand on advice and their ‘‘world famous’’ recipes too.