A little taste of Europe in heart of Otumoetai

A European-styled cafe has opened in one of Tauranga's most established suburbs, Otumoetai, and has quickly become a centre of attraction, and curiosity.
Two business couples, Kirsty and Joseph Goddard and Lisa Bardebes and Mark Jensen, have established the Grange Road Cafe and Restaurant to serve the local community.
"Neighbourhood cafes are now the temples," said Kirsty. "They've become community meeting places. The mothers come here - they went to get out during the day and meet people. It's all very European."
The cafe has been open just over a week, and the two couples produced a European touch in keeping with the feel of the solid concrete 1950s building. It was originally a butcher shop.
They bought the building from Janice Priest who ran her Healthy Options magazine there for 10 years.
"I wanted the building to carry on serving the community, and Joseph and his team has done a fantastic job," Janice said.
The new owners, operating as Grange Road Cafe Limited, stripped the 11 offices in the downstairs of the building, put in new ceilings, and soundproofed and fire rated the building.
They produced the 90 sq m cafe seating 40 people, some retail space and an office leased by Building Surveying Services (BOP). Upstairs are two apartments.
Mark, the head chef, and Lisa will operate Grange Road Cafe and Restaurant, while Kirsty and Joseph continue to concentrate on their Tay St cafe at Mount Maunganui.
"We haven't copied Tay St," said Joseph. "That gets more of the tourist trade and Grange Rd is more neighbourhood. It is a welcome addition to the area."
At present, Grange Road Cafe is opening during the day for breakfast, lunch and afternoon coffee/snack, and it plans to run an evening menu from Wednesday to Saturday, till 10pm, when it obtains a liquor licence.
Some local residents have objected and a liquor licence hearing will be held within two to three months.
"I think they thought it was going to be a bar, but we don't want to be open late," said Joseph. "As we've developed the site, a majority of people have wanted us to open four nights.
"They have seen the trend of having a local eatery where you have one dish, a glass of wine and can leisurely walk home. It's civilised dining, not a booze barn," he said.
The entire cafe is non smoking, including the front seating area.
Grange Road is running an extensive breakfast and lunchtime menu, with meals mainly between $17-$19, and a stand-out $22 for peppered tuna loin nicoise with black olive tapenade and anchovy dressing.
The four owners have had plenty of experience in the hospitality sector.
Mark has been a head chef for more than 20 years, first with Harbourside restaurant, Mediterraneo Cafe in Devonport Rd and then Bizzarri Cafe on The Strand (which he owned for two years).
After that, he was the head chef at the Astrolabe Restaurant in downtown Mount Maunganui for three years when he decided to head overseas.
Lisa, who was working in Japan, joined Mark in France and Italy and they managed hotels in the Southern Alps, mainly in the French ski village of Les Deux Alpes.
They returned to New Zealand in 2003 and ran the new exclusive Bay of Many Coves resort in the Marlborough Sounds for six years with 22 staff - Lisa was the general manager and Mark the executive chef.
The five-star resort could only be reached by boat or helicopter and the one, two and three-bedroom apartments (tree houses) for a total of 42 guests were nestled in among the bush.
Back in Tauranga, Mark and Lisa were approached by the Goddards to operate the Grange Road Cafe.
They had worked together long ago at the Astrolabe - Kirsty and Joseph managed the restaurant for 12 years.
They left to design and build the Bravo Restaurant Cafe in Mid City Mall and sold it six months later to Jack and Nancy Hogg.
The Goddards then teamed up with the Astrolable shareholders to open Soak Cafe and Restaurant in the Napier hot pools on Marine Parade.
The Goddards again went their own way by opening Tay Street Beach Cafe two years ago.
So is there another venture around the corner?
"We are working on the next one, right now," said Joseph. They will be putting in a 60 sq m cafe/kiosk into the foyer of the new Sharp Tudhople building on the corner of Devonport Rd and First Avenue.
"This is another trend for modern office buildings.
"It's a place for people to meet and greet when they come into the building, or the workers can take their food away," said Joseph.