Resurrection of Pumice cafe going to be ‘spectacular’

The melted jewel in Pumice Food Group’s crown is being reforged in Hamilton as a $1.2 million reconstruction takes shape where the group’s awardwinning restaurant once stood.

Fourteen months after Pumice Bistro & Cafe was razed in an electrical fire, foundations are being laid for a new Pumice in Church Rd, Te Rapa, with completion expected by August.

Pumice Food Group director David Kerr and co-owner of Pumice described the resurrection as spectacular. ‘‘It’s going to have a whole new, different look and feel. It looks like about a third of the building is levered out over the cliff, looking towards the Hakarimatas. It’s going to be pretty spectacular.’’

A large open-plan bar and covered courtyard with an open fireplace would be part of the fitout, with the focus on customer casual dining, Kerr said.

He hoped the restaurant would be up and running by September, and would be looking for between 20 and 30 new staff.

‘‘That’s waitresses, chefs, bar managers and managers.’’

He said ‘‘bits and bobs’’ from the original staff team would rejoin the ranks.

‘‘It’s just been such a long time [most of them] have got new jobs. Some of them we have kept.’’

Previous head chef Carl Houben had gone to Chartwell’s Smith and McKenzie, Kerr said.

Pumice Food Group will lease the building from Downey Construction, which had developed the Church Rd business park for the past decade.

The position of the building had changed from the original floor plan, Kerr said, so the lengthy process of applying for new resource consents had slowed down the rebuild.

The burgeoning trend of smaller plates and tapas was something Kerr said his team would consider when creating a new menu.

‘‘One of the big changes is a robata grill, which is a Japanese wood-fire grill. It’s a healthy, nice way of cooking.’’

In 2013, Pumice bagged the best restaurant title at the prestigious Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence.

The fire in the restaurant happened as Kerr was in the throes of his first holiday in five years.

Specialist fire investigator Peter Hallett said the cause of the fire was deemed to be an electrical fault.

The Fire Protection Association of

David Kerr, left, and Ryan Ladbrooks, co-owners of Pumice restaurant, on the site where the reconstruction is taking place. New Zealand said the outcome of the fire could have been different if the restaurant had had a sprinkler system and a brigade-connected alarm.

Back on board: