Te Aroha township map

Rabbit Moon Cafe owners’ Graham and Wendy Willcox walked into the former 60s bach-turned-cafe while enroute home from an unsuccessful search to find their dream cafe.

Thankfully, there was a ‘for sale’ sign on the door.

The cafe is decidedly homely and welcoming, with original matai floors, garden seating out back and a record player where cafe customers can choose from Graham’s collection of 300 records and listen to whatever they want to hear. All while sipping on great coffee and food that Wendy makes using locally sourced and “organic where possible” ingredients from Waihi Beach and Katikati.

“We are dog-friendly and there’s a box of toys for the kids to play with,” says Graham. He says the Waihi Beach community is “lovely”. “We have regulars who bring their plates up to us and then go and start washing dishes, we have to tell them to go away. It’s amazing. It reminds us of the Mount and Papamoa in the sixties and seventies. It’s got a real village atmosphere.”

Rabbit Moon Café Thurs - Mon 9am-3pm Next to Village Info Centre, Waihi Beach 07 863 4762

Enjoy: Freshly Baked Food Organic Teas Millers Coffee Smoothies Cakes vinyl Music Free WiFi