Diverse dinners, plus Wanaka’s general store
or 11 years the Sailz cafe- bar has benefited from a huge influx of visitors to Lake Hawea — its fortunes aided by being Wanaka’s only general store.
Bayleys Wanaka sales people Mat Andrews and Jarrod Frazer are now marketing Sailz as a freehold going concern, through a tender process which closes on October 21.
“The expansion of Queenstown and Wanaka will continue to generate greater interest in the region, and with Lake Hawea a popular destination,” Andrews says.
“The area attracts many tourists all stopping in for a slice of characteristically Kiwi hospitality.”
On the southwestern shore of Lake Hawea, Sailz occupies a 582sq m site. It offers a three- pronged business opportunity which incorporates the general store, cafe, bar and restaurant, he says.
Owner- operators Dave and Liz Matheson manage the business, employing 12 staff and being renowned for homemade meat pies, ice- creams, and earnest hospitality.
The general store and cafe — at street level at 33 Capell Ave — now opens 7.30am through to 9pm in summer, and 8pm during winter months.
As the only general store in Hawea, the grocer is stocked with seasonal, organic produce, fresh meat, glutenfree foods and even a range of products from body care manufacturer The Aromatherapy Company. A range of beer and Central Otago wines are available from the off- license.
Downstairs there are postal facilities and a sunny courtyard, with seating for cafe customers.
The restaurant and bar on the second floor, comfortably seat 40 people — extending to 70 when the north- facing deck i s fully utilised. Perennially full, with bookings advised, the menu consists of a la carte, with set menu and buffet options for large groups.
Meals range in price from $ 21-$ 70 per head, with the kitchen equipped to serve everything from fish’n’chips to high- end gourmet meals.
Catering for conferences and wed- ding breakfasts, the business also operates a courtesy shuttle service with an eight- seater van, to transport dinner patrons transport from Wanaka and the Hawea.
To keep local customers happy, the Mathesons serve up burgers and pizza from their takeaway menu.
They advertise a catering menu designed to fuel hungry road workers, builders and shearers visiting the region.
Famed as an outdoor- lovers paradise, the Wanaka tourist bookings are growing exponentially. In July Statistics New Zealand reported tourist spending at $ 49 million — up 18.8 percent on the same time last year.
Andrews says that with many of the region’s visitors staying shortterm, Wanaka has recorded 33,771 guest nights in June 2016 alone. Sailz i s reaping the benefit from this growth, being en route to some of the area’s most frequented scenic attractions.
Designed in the 1950s to house dam workers, Hawea now boasts many popular walking tracks: Visitors call in on their way to the Blue Pools, Dingle Peak and Isthmus Peak Tracks.
“One of the biggest attractions in the area, the Blue Pools are accessed at the end of a short walk through beech forest, where visitors flock to view the azure waters and Makarora River gorge,” says Andrews.