Beachfront business for sale
One of New Zealand’s most commercially eclectic hospitality operations – located on one of the country’s busiest tourist routes and set to benefit from the growing number of riders on a new cycle trail – has have been placed on the market for sale.
The Store Kekerengu at Kaikoura in the South Island is a fully licensed cafe bar which also doubles as a wedding and functions venue, and as a rustic Kiwiana-style campground overlooking a little-used beach. The Store Kekerengu has been trading for some 27 years – consistently growing the range and quality of services on offer while simultaneously building an outstanding reputation in the upper South Island.
Located beside State Highway 1 mid-way between Blenheim and Kaikoura, The Store Kekerengu sits on some 10.11ha of freehold waterfront land and is directly adjacent to the newly opened Whale Trail Cycleway linking Picton with Christchurch and the Hurunui spur.
Cycle trails have been a boon for New Zealand’s tourism sector over the past decade – and have seen scores of tourism and hospitality operations open in the Bay of Islands and Coromandel, through to the Central North Island, and throughout Otago. The Kaikoura Coast will now join that roll call, with The Store Kekerengu perfectly positioned as a rider’s venue of choice – whether for a meal stop, or for the provision of accommodation services.
The land and buildings supporting The Store Kekerengu, in conjunction with the business, are now being marketed for sale by negotiation through Colliers Marlborough. Sales director Andy Poswillo says road traffic along the Kaikoura coastline had been increasing by 3 per cent annually since 2015 – with The Store Kekerengu picking up a portion of the rising traffic volume for its patronage.
A large rugby pitch-sized front lawn between The Store’s hospitality premises and the beach has also been used to host large marquees capable of seating some 120 guests. The venue has hosted three or four weddings annually over the past few years – all booked with minimal marketing spend on the sector of the business. Each wedding generates between $11,000 to $25,000.
In addition, the business is now servicing day trippers on the Marlborough Flyer steam train chugging out of Blenheim – with each visit bringing in up to 300 passengers for lunch. Music festivals are next on the list as attractions, with the return of international cruise ships to Picton classified as a long-term opportunity for increasing lunch trade at the venue.
Poswillo says The Store Kekerengu’s vertically integrated business model means guests attending functions in the venue have the option of camping immediately next door in an area which is now reaping the environmental benefits of 25 years of tree planting and landscaping.