The problems with the Rimutaka Tearooms.
On Sunday night – the “tearooms” at the top of the Rimutaka hills burned down. Of course – they haven’t been open in months anyway, and even before they closed I rarely saw them open. On one of those very rare days I actually went in to get a takeaway coffee, to find that they don’t do espresso coffees anyway, and certainly not takeaway. So it was a short-lived visit.
The current closure was due to problems between the owners of the lease and the regional council if I’ve understood it correctly. The council has been insisting that the place be demolished (at the expense of the lease owner, in what I can only assume was a move that did not go down well. I mean, forcing someone to pay to demolish a building they lease to run a business is a bit off. I’m sure there’s more to it than that – but still – it doesn’t seem right to me.)
The demolition was held off for a while as the current owner tried to put a business case together, and apparently the Mayor of Carterton has also been looking at trying to take it over and turn it into a decent café and information centre.
And this is the bit that I never got about the “tearooms”. It’s on the main tourist route from Wellington heading north up the east side of the country. It is the entrance to the Wairarapa, and the views up at the top are spectacular. And yet, we get a car park, a “tearooms” dating back to who knows when, that’s shabby and old-fashioned, and a toilet block that wouldn’t look out of place in a UK inner city slum. To add insult to injury – the revolting toilets have been locked for months, so even if you desperately need a wee (and you need to be desperate)– you can’t have one!
So now the café is no more (though the toilet block – useless as it is to anyone – is still standing). The mayor is still keen to rebuild – and I get the impression that he is the kind of guy who actually would build a decent café that isn’t an embarrassment to the Wairarapa. He comes across as fiercely proud of the area – and I hope he gets to rebuild it. (And I hope we get a toilet that doesn’t stink of wee and that we can actually use!).
Related posts:
- Maybe the Mayor should have kept quiet.
- Cutting through the Rimutaka Hill Road
- 25,000 guests? – Of course, come right this way.
Comments
3 Comments on The problems with the Rimutaka Tearooms.
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Jeff on
Tue, 7th Apr 2009 6:04 pm
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Tererehua on
Wed, 8th Apr 2009 10:57 am
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admin on
Wed, 8th Apr 2009 11:04 am
A shame about the Cafe. Yes it was a dive, but as a motorcyclist, this cafe was an icon place to stop for a rest when doing the Rimutaka run!
I think the whole damn situation is a shame. We also used it as a stopover when on a bike run. I also know that the new owners had problems from the start when they bought the lease and so could not make the changes they wanted to bring it up to “par”
Chin up – theres hope yet. If anyone can get this back on its feet – I think it’s Carterton’s mayor. For a start – he just LOOKS like he won’t let Wellington Council say no to his idea! Watch this space – if anything starts happening up there – I’ll let you know 
Hxxx
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