THE BULLRING: A new lease on life
Lance Kennett is learning what it’s like to take a bull by its horns. Fifteen months ago the former Gisborne-based beef and sheep farm manager left his old life behind and purchased iconic but rundown Atiamuri business The Bullring.
The business, which features a bar, bottle store, cafe, field and playground, convenience store, cafe, and accommodation for 36 is hard to miss if you’ve ever driven along State Highway 1 between Taupo¯ and Tokoroa.
In the 1970s scenes for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation’s first continuing drama Pukemanu were filmed there and for years The Bullring had a steady flow of patronage.
‘‘We welcome anybody, it doesn’t matter who they are. That is the good thing about having a business like this’’ Owner Lance Kennett
But in recent times the sparkle of its movie star days were well and truly dimmed.
‘‘The previous owner was here for four years and she ran it into the ground, it was a bloody dump,’’ Kennett said.
‘‘We have spent 15 months tidying it up and we are still trying to get it back up and working.
‘‘Obviously we have to do it in stages, I’ve spent over $40,000 alone upgrading the showers, but we are now at a point where we can start getting people in here again and we are getting more and more customers all the time,’’ he said.
Kennett said originally the condition of the business put him off purchasing it but looking at the numbers he eventually decided to give things a shot.
‘‘I managed a farm down in the Western Bays for 17 years so I knew the area and knew this place. I had been past it hundreds of times but I’d never been in.
‘‘When it was offered to me I had second thoughts as I had never seen cars here but I looked at the numbers and they were reasonable so I thought well it’s got accommodation, which is the cream of the business, as well as a bottle store and bar which we could make into a bit of a summer thing. Since taking over we have doubled profits,’’ he said.
He said people from all walks of life were stopping in.
‘‘We want to get mum, dad and the kids in through the day, that’s why we have put the playground in, and our bar area is licensed so a lot of people like to go out there and have a sit down while the kids play. We welcome anybody, it doesn’t matter who they are. That is the good thing about having a business like this,’’ he said.