Owner Roger Barrett in the café on Jellicoe St. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
CHELSEA BOYLE
A café, catering and takeaway business in central Martinborough is up for sale.
Providore, which was established in 2001, is on the market.
Owner Roger Barrett worked in pate manufacturing before he moved from Wellington, and was keen to remain his own boss as a self-employed man.
“We moved to Wairarapa with no job to go to, so we sort of manufactured the job, nothing like a bit of pressure,” he said.
“We had to hit the ground running.”
More tourists and permanent residents coming to Martinborough had fed the growing hospitality sector.
Recently, his shop had turned to creating more fresh salads.
“More the healthy options rather than just pastries and breads.
“That’s proven to be popular.”
There were a lot of regulars who were keen on the coffee and the biodegradable takeaway cups as well, he said.
“The coffees important of course, we have some good coffee makers including myself.”
The business had a “good name” for being able to deliver good quality and quantity at events, he said.
They had a contract with Brackenridge Country Estate and Spa for at least 12 years, providing catering for corporate events and weddings.
But the time was right to move on.
“I’ve done it for 15 years and it’s time to share the fun with somebody else.”
Looking forwards, travel in Italy and France was on the agenda for Mr Barrett.
While he had had “a few nibbles” of interest for the business, he was not expecting it to sell in a week and was more focused on finding the right person.
“I’m still enjoying it – we’ve given ourselves a bit of a runway to sell it.”
He was hoping to find someone who was keen on becoming their own boss and landlord.
Taking over the building as well would offer good security, he said.
“[You can] control your destiny a little bit if you’re the landlord as well.”
