New Zealand’s oldest pub, the Moutere Inn, could be yours

“The Moutere Hotel, being situated about half-way between Nelson and Motueka, forms a capital resting place where families, parties and travellers (with their horses) can be supplied with every necessary at moderate rates.”

So reads an early advertisement for the two-storey wooden hotel at the top of a picturesque valley, built by one of the earliest settlers in the region, German soldier Cordt Bensemann in 1850. The ad also boasted of a choice assortment of wines and spirits as well as draught and bottled ales.

Those promises, minus the horses, are being honoured 173 years on at the oldest pub in the country still in its original building. Other hotels were built earlier, but the buildings do not remain.

Now the current proprietors of the Moutere Inn, Andrew Cole and Dave Watson, want to pass the baton on to new owners with a “reluctant” decision to put the pub on the market.

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When the pair took over the pub, along with two others in 2008, it had definitely seen better days. The 1960s had seen it turned into a booze barn, and the leaners, pokies, juke box and formica tables were still there, with a garish turquoise and pink decor.

They all went as the new owners, with no hospitality experience but with a keen appreciation of the fledgling craft beer industry, set about turning it into a place, as Cole said, he would like to come to.

Over the past 15 years, they have updated the bar and kitchen, added a garden bar, painted the outside in heritage colours, and made other renovations. A couple of leaners remain, given a makeover with wooden tops, but there are no pokies, TV, or advertising.

“We were quite early in the craft beer, free-house movement, which caught a few locals by surprise, but they became our biggest supporters,” Cole said.

There are two old-school mainstream beers on tap but the rest are a rotating list of craft beers, an estimated 530 in total since 2008. The wine list all comes from the surrounding region, and the pub has built up a reputation as a dining destination.

“We’re probably more of a gastro-pub now with half our staff in the kitchen,” Watson said.

He said the most rewarding part of the business was the interactions with the pub’s patrons and staff, who came from around the world.

The two owners said after 15 years in hospitality, and having achieved their vision for the pub, it was the right time to move on.

Watson said he would definitely consider coming back in some role, and definitely as a customer.

But he is also looking forward to spending a New Year’s Eve with family for the first time since 2007.

As well as the business, the land and pub building, which currently houses staff accommodation upstairs, are also for sale.