CAROLINE HARKER

The arrival of a new butcher in Wanaka a year ago was very much the result of a chance conversation in Northland.

Jeff Smith and Kate Gordon-Smith had a lifestyle block in Kaukapakapa and used to employ Helensville longtime butcher Bruce Scott to homekill their lambs. When he was at their property last year Bruce mentioned he had just been down to Wanaka for the shotgun sporting clay national competition. Jeff and Kate said they always holidayed in Wanaka and would love to move south one day. Bruce mentioned there was no dedicated butcher shop in town, Kate said Jeff was looking for a new business and the rest (as the saying goes) is history.

Kate talked about the idea to their friend, Wanaka resident Brent Makeham, who said there was a disused butcher shop on Reece Crescent. "That was in July last year and we were here by November,” Kate said.

Jeff and Bruce are 50/50 partners in The Butcher’s Block and Smokehouse. Bruce is passing on his smallgoods processing knowledge to Jeff, who now manages that side of the business, producing hundreds of kilos of sausages, bacon, salami and other smallgoods every week.

Bruce’s partner Olesia Andronnikova spends most of her day out the front of the shop serving customers and does the office administration, and Kate does the accounts and marketing.

"We’ve all found our own roles,” Kate said. "We had a few things to sort out but it’s all going very well now. Especially since they pay me.” Kate also has her own business of 15 years, Relish Communications, which she brought south with her.

The two couples are celebrating the first anniversary of the Butcher’s Block on Saturday (December 17) with a free barbeque outside the shop from 10am to 2pm (weather permitting).

Bruce said their first year has been tough. "I’m really proud of the team. Everyone has pulled together and worked hard. It cost us more to set up this business than anticipated, so we’ve had our challenges but we’re certainly on the positive side of things now and our feedback is fantastic. People are noticing that we are cheaper than the supermarkets. We manufacture everything on site and its all South Island produce. We’re all about supporting the south.” 

Jeff said locals seem very pleased to have a dedicated butcher in town again. "We’re trying to support the community too. We do fundraising sausages which we sell at no profit. They are $1 each including bread and sauce and lots of people pre-order them for fundraisers. We also do a cheap rate on handmade patties for sports clubs etc and they are going really well.

"Our first year in business has been better in some areas than we expected, not as good as others. We can’t compete on the wholesale market but people love the quality of our produce, the smallgoods and the prime cuts. We’ve got some really good staff, and the locals have been very good at supporting us.

"We plan to get bigger and better in the future. The homekill slaughtering side just started in mid-November, and we’re consolidating and expanding, getting our name out there. We still get some locals coming in saying they didn’t know we were here.

"We would like to get a trailer going in the future, so we can go to the markets, with a BBQ too.”

Jeff and Kate are living in Luggate, and Bruce, Olesia and their two-year-old daughter Julia live on Plantation Road and have plans to build on a section in Hawea. Both families say they are very pleased with their move to Wanaka.

"Oleisa and I both love it down here,” said Bruce. "One of the things I really like about Wanaka is it’s still got that small town local feel, whereas Helensville, where I come from, has really been swallowed up by Auckland and lost that. Now it’s full of takeaway bars and real estate agents. Most of the people who live there commute to Auckland to work and the local businesses are dying. Wanaka still has that ‘look after local’ attitude.”

"We’ve got no regrets whatsoever,” Kate said. "We’ve always wanted to move down here.” And despite being from balmy Northland they don’t mind the winter cold. "We’ve got a really well insulated house. We just put on lots more layers and we’re fine. We’re even talking about bringing my mother down from Devonport.”

PHOTO: The Wanaka App