Fine fare in Golden Bay

By Timmi Aplin-Barrett

In the heart of the Golden Bay lies The Mussel Inn which

Built in 1992, The Mussel Inn began before the days of licenced cafes and when tea rooms and taverns were still popular.

Owners, Jane and Andrew Dixon saw a need to create a family friendly space to eat, drink and be merry.

Jane says, back then, there were none of the family friendly places that we’re used to now.

“We thought it was time there was,” Jane says. “I guess we were right at the front of when this was all changing so it seemed like a natural thing for us to do.”

The Mussel Inn has been going strong for 30 years and the team celebrated their anniversary in December of 2022.

According to Jane, they had a bit of a birthday week! “We had a big birthday party on the 3rd and then we had another, smaller party on the 10th,” Jane explains.

The main party business were the two music events and the people who joined in to recognise the feat.

“Our brewer, who’s been with us for nearly 25 years, has a band so he played on the 3rd and then we rounded up the week with the Gypsy Pickers on the 10th, who actually played at our opening party 30 years ago!”

Jane says they’re locally known as The Mussel Inn Bush Café due to their woody surroundings. It’s very kid friendly and she says they’ve got a big tyre swing, plenty of games on the shelves and lots of kid’s books.

“We’ve been a community hub for years,” Jane explains. “We have meetings, family gatherings, birthdays, wakes and all sorts.”

A family and community-oriented business, The Mussel Inn has children of early staff working there now as well as Jane and Andrew’s own grandchildren. “Our son worked here and now our grandkids,” says Jane.

The Mussel Inn is definitely an integral part of the Onehaka community and seems to be in safe hands. Jane says the next step for them is for her and her husband to work on having a relaxed life.

“Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen suddenly. But we’re going to gradually morph into letting go a bit and letting the kids take the lead a bit more.”

As The Mussel Inn looks ahead with 30 years of success under its belt, Jane and Andrew are feeling pretty grateful.

“We want to acknowledge the wonderful staff we’ve had over the years because, without them, we certainly couldn’t have done it,” Jane says.

“We also couldn’t have done it without the support from the local community. Our community is our bread and butter and who we made the place for.” CT The Mussel Inn 1259 Takaka Collingwood Highway Takaka (03) 525 9241 haveabeer@musselinn.co.nz www.musselinn.co.nz

Aside from business owners Gary Shepherd and Errol Kime retiring and selling the collision repair shop to David Kennedy and Gerard Kime in 2006, very few things have changed for the business.

When asked how the shop has withstood the test of time, Shepherd & Kime Ltd co-owner Gerard Kime says, “I think it comes down to our good service. We try to keep the customer experience as a whole as high quality as we can give.

“We like to give good, fast turnarounds because we don’t like people being off the road for too long. We just like to do a quality repair, really. We’ve got a pretty good crew on deck.” In order to get customers back on the road, Gerard says that the team does its best to keep up to date with all of the latest gear, spray ovens, and chassis electronic measuring systems.

In addition to adopting new technologies, the team is always looking to perfect its process so that repairs are done in an efficient manner. You can trust the team at Shepherd & Kime to sort out the parts needed to fix your vehicle so that the quote you get at the start of the process is what you pay when the job is done. Customers can bring their vehicles to the Shepherd & Kime shop on Sheffield Crescent or its new location on Selwyn Street. The Selwyn Street shop was purposefully fitted out for the business’s panel and paint services and equipment.

Whichever shop you take your vehicle, you can trust Shepherd & Kime to get the job done right the first time. Gerard says, “We’re just trying to supply a good service to the Christchurch people.” CT

Shepherd & Kime Ltd

440 Selwyn Street

Addington Christchurch (03) 366 8256 admin@sandk.co.nz www.shepherdandkime.co.nz

Collision Repair

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