On The Up: Two new eateries to open in Tauranga's Historic Village
'Nothing else like it in the area'
A restaurant and garden bar 'where the atmosphere is just as good as the food' is coming to the village this winter.
Mitch Lowe - director of 30 companies including Bay Dreams, Audiology Touring, Tenfold, and Soundsplash - and his wife Ezel plan to open their first restaurant, Med Lounge & Garden, in June.
Ezel is also an entrepreneur and owns Nectar Sangria.
Mitch Lowe told the Bay of Plenty Times the couple bought Ariel and Mali Cottans' restaurant Malka, which they were renovating to become the Med.
The couple wanted to create 'a bit of a destination' by making it 'a full indoor outdoor-themed dining experience where the atmosphere is just as good as the food'.
It would have private rooms for functions and 'elements of well-curated music'.
'We just feel like there's nothing else like it in the area so we're just hoping it's a place that locals just really fall in love with ...
'I think that what we're bringing is a young, fresh approach to a historic sort of site.'
Lowe said the Med was serving pitas and salads 'out the window' while renovations were under way indoors.
The restaurant and garden bar would open at the start of June 'if all goes well' following their liquor licence application.
Business 'better than we expected'
Ichiban co-owner and chef Karen Aya Onishi said she and her husband Diego Pires opened in the village in March where the Whipped Baker used to be.
Business had been 'great' and 'better than we expected'.
The couple had owned a food caravan since 2019. They did a function in front of the village last year and saw 'great potential' in opening permanently.
Celebrating five years in business
The Village Barber owner Trina Pyle was celebrating five years in business at the village in May.
She signed the lease in 2020 and was 'proud' to say the business had survived Covid-19.
Pyle started offering a special rate for Tauranga Hospital staff during Covid-19 and continued doing so as she loved giving back to essential services.
She was not increasing prices this year, as families have had 'a tough few years'.
She thanked her 'best support person' Des McCleary and her loyal customers.
Pyle said many clients said it would take 'forever' to find parking, and the council should consider allocated parking for village customers 'so that they can pop in, do a shop, have a quick bite to eat, get a haircut'.
The council's venue and events manager Nelita Byrne said it was working through parking options as part of the Historic Village Grounds plan.
Byrne said the village was 'well connected' to alternative transport options, with the bus stopping nearby and being on the Kōpūrererua Valley Cycleway.
A 'destination' cafe to open
A new cafe in the 'heart' of the village is preparing to open after two years of construction.
Byrne said the cafe was part of the council's $7.2m Complex 2 development, which included a commercial kitchen, the Balcony Room venue with capacity for 175 people, two retail spaces – already open for business – an office space, public toilets, and service facilities to support functions and events.
The 'destination' cafe, which seated more than 60 patrons indoors and had outdoor seating, would serve the surrounding business precinct, including Tauranga Hospital, 17th Avenue Business Park, and The Kollective co-working community.
The council was in the negotiation stage of the procurement process for a tenant and hoped to have the cafe open by June.
Byrne said 'significant' work was involved, including structural and earthquake strengthening, fire compliance, and electrical and plumbing upgrades.
The project's original scope was to revamp the existing building by constructing a commercial kitchen and cafe on the ground floor, and an event space on the upper level.
Once the interior cladding was removed, 'a number of unforeseen structural issues' with the wider building were uncovered, requiring additional remediation works and seismic strengthening, she said.
An extra 3.4m was approved by the council in September 2023 for the building.
Byrne said the village was Tauranga's 'vibrant and diverse community hub'.
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