Winton’s newest cafe was almost a pub
If Scott Wills had his way, Winton would have had a pub instead of a cafe.
But with the amount of coffee his wife Andrea buys and drinks, Wills joked that he might as well own a cafe, and then he could “recoup money both ways”.
The couple, both dairy farmers, are the proud owners of the newly opened Blatch Bros Eatery & Store in Winton, housed in the former Bank of New Zealand heritage building that they bought and renovated.
It’s their first foray into the hospitality industry and comes at a difficult time for some owners in Southland. The owners of The Taproom in Invercargill closed the restaurant on December 23 after little more than a year of operation, citing staffing challenges and rising business costs.
But Wills said he had “always liked having challenges”. It helped that the couple’s children were old enough that they didn’t need to be looked after.
“I just want to make people happy,” he said.
“The other day, [the cafe] was full of a lot of old ladies sitting down having a yarn and a chin-wag, and that was probably something that Winton was really missing.”
During an interview on Thursday, Wills told a story about his mother who lived out in the country, where she was vulnerable to loneliness. But after moving to town, she was able to join a walking group and go out regularly to get coffee.
“And she absolutely loves it,” he said. “I was thinking, if that's the case with my mum, there will be other people that feel like that, and they need to get out.”
That knowledge informed his approach to customer service, he said.
“I'm not just catering for old people. I want to cater to tradies, mums with bubs, old people and young people and create a bit of an environment where everyone can go and chill.”
If it were up to him, he’d do the menu differently. “I do like [a] good cheese roll, a good steak sandwich. I like chips. I like all the bad stuff. But I've got to realise that it’s not just about me,” he said.
“There’s lots on my menu that I wouldn’t buy. But the stuff that [became] really popular is all the stuff that I wouldn’t have put on it.
“We’ve been having fun. Not being in the hospitality business, we’re quite open-minded.”
Wills would like to see a healthcare centre on the floor above the cafe. The couple would also like to develop the cafe’s outdoor dining section and build an area for children to play in and make it dog-friendly “at some point”, he said.
“We’ve also got a bike rack coming for the bikers.”
The cafe stocked natural remedies and flowers at the front, and there were plans to offer eye readings because Andrea was into iridology, Wills said.
Now that the business is open, he said the main task was to get repeat customers.
“We want people to keep turning up. If that happens, we've succeeded.”
Wills said that as a customer, he felt frustrated when he experienced average cafe service, and as an owner, he aspired to offer good service.
“It's not all about money.”