Tea is for Tinui
wta210717gftinui02.jpg Tinui Tea Rooms all set to open this Sunday.
wta210717gftinui09.jpg The tea rooms sign awaiting placement. PHOTOS/GERALD FORD
By Gerald Ford
The former General Store in Tinui is about to reopen as a tea rooms.
Its new owners Christine and Jeremy Sterrett have lived in the village – walking distance from the store – for about 18 months and are now ready to launch an old-fashioned tea rooms to serve locals and holidayers to nearby Castlepoint.
The general store building has not functioned as a general store for 10 years or more, although it has been a postal and farm supplies delivery point for some of that time.
“It’s been a dead spot in the middle of the village,” Mr Sterrett said.
“This building kept being empty and nobody came (to rent it), nothing ever happened,” Mrs Sterrett said.
“And we just wanted something special.”
Mrs Sterrett, formerly Olds, once ran the Village Pantry in Kuripuni, Masterton “about 30 years ago”.
She has run another food-business, a fashion store and a gift store, in Feilding and in Tirau, Waikato.
The Tinui Tea Rooms will serve high teas and Devonshire teas, as well as some more everyday grocery items and gifts.
“There’ll be pies for the forestry guys as well, ploughmans lunches and other food – a few gift lines, a few grocery items for people coming out to the beach.”
The tea rooms will open from Friday to Monday, 9am to 4pm during the winter months, with the possibility of expanding hours over summer.
“We’ve seen all these campervans coming out on the long road to Castlepoint, and we’ve talked to a few people who said they would love it if there was a tea rooms.”
The tea rooms adjoins the Tinui Museum and Tinui Craft Corner, and when these are open the tea rooms will Mrs Sterrett plans to have the door opening through.
She said the people of Tinui have been “very supportive” of the venture, and says it fits in nicely with some new planned developments for the village, including the moving of the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd from down the road into the village itself – and a new fire station building on the way.
The Tinui Tea Rooms officially opens this Sunday, July 30.
Hi when is the TEA ROOMS OPENING
Sounds divine. But before I go there I need to know if alternative dietary requirements will be catered for. I’m a coeliac and need gluten free food, and please, not just the orange and almond cake, delicious as at it is. Everyone has it and just imagine if you went out for an afternoon tea and you could only have one item in the cabinet and it was the same thing that you’ve had in dozens of cafes before and you can make it yourself at home anyway.
Looking good , good luck for the opening and further business . Have a fabulous time and a good summer
Ka pai – would suggest some large billboards spaced from the old golf course to the pub enticing prospective customers to turn left at the pub to experience your delights. Hope I can come back in time to pay a visit. Best of luck in your new venture. Many treasured memories of going across to the store to pick up the pies and milk for lunches from the school back in the late 60’s.