By Hayley Gastmeier
The “2 Short Whites” are calling it a day.
Sisters Sue Wright and Nicky Brindle have put their central Greytown cafe on the market.
Located on Main St in The Hub complex, 2 Short Whites launched in July 2015.
The cafe was named after the sisters, who don’t keep track of their ages but are somewhere up in their 60s.
Since opening, the eatery has become a favourite stop for locals and visitors alike, and is known for its fresh menu and exceptional coffee.
Mrs Wright said the cafe’s popularity had grown at an astonishing rate and was now “too much for the old girls”.
“We are getting very old and tired, and the two short whites are now two stuffed whites basically.”
She said the venue was not being used to its full potential, and it was now time a “younger group of people” carried it to the next level.
But it had always been the intention to establish the cafe, build it up and then sell it on, Mrs Wright said.
“We’ve done what we’ve set out to do… now it’s time for the next generation to take it on.”
Initially the cafe was to be the sisters’ “last little adventure”.
But “there might be one more adventure” left in the pair before being claimed by a “zimmer frame or a motorised scooter”, Mrs Wright said.
“Once you stop learning or being inquisitive you really do get old. That will be the worry.”
She thanked the wider Wairarapa community for the overwhelming support it had given the cafe.
2 Short Whites – the business, “not the old girls” – is being sold by Harcourts Hamill Realty agent Brady Bingham.
Mr Bingham claimed he was the cafe’s first customer, and since opening he has eaten there “almost every day”.
The fact that there had been a significantly low staff turnover was a testament to the sisters “and the way that they lead their team”.
He said the sisters had come from “something like 120 years” of shared hospitality experience.
“With that they have been able to really refine what it is to be a good, successful eatery.
“The quality of the food, the menus, the fact they make all of their own bread, use no refined sugar… means someone is just going to be able to walk in there and take it to the next level.”
Mr Bingham said the business was rating well on TripAdvisor and was currently trading seven days, from 8am to 3pm.
“There’s plenty of scope to increase revenue with evening service, cooking classes or catering.”
The location of the business was “unique”, with a long term lease in place that excluded other eateries to open in The Hub.
The business had also been “future-proofed” with “cloud-based” operating systems.
