Mount bar Rising Tide finalist in NZ Hospitality Awards

Zaira Nunez dishes up some of the popular Johney's Dumplings. Photo/Andrew Warner

A Mount bar that has gone from an infamous rock pub in the late 1990s to a "destination" for dumplings and craft beer is a 2017 Hospitality NZ Awards for Excellence finalist.

The Rising Tide on Newton St next to Soper Reserve is one of four finalists from throughout the country for the best redeveloped bar/restaurant.

It comes a year after the bar also won the outstanding venue award in the 2016 Bay of Plenty Hospitality Awards.

The three other finalists in their category include Bowl and Social in SkyCity Hamilton, and Danger Danger and Jack Hackett's Irish Pub in Wellington.

Judges have recognised the bar's transformation from what was the iconic Brewers Bar with its rock posters plastered on the walls to a much-larger family restaurant with a built-in brewery in just one year.

Today's local punters sit at the bar and reminisce about the bar that was first established in the 1990s. They includeone of The Rising Tide's very own, Andre Howe.

"I remember being in the old Brewers and there were 12 locals ... I used to go to old gigs," the sales and operations manager said.

"The great thing about Brewers was, it was iconic. It had rock posters and some of the best bands played here. There was a reputation."

Now, renovations to expand the pub and include the Mount Brewing Co brewery have earned The Rising Tide its own reputation of dumplings and craft beer since it first opened in July last year.

Mr Howe said at first there were a few doubters due to the bar's location in an industrial area on Newton St, but doubts were soon dimmed.

"Brewers has always been synonymous [with] rock bands and a lot of gigs," he said.

"It was quite a local-driven bar. Now it is more family-based. That is the biggest change we have seen."

The renovation has provided space for a new bottling machine and fermentation tanks in a working brewery viewable to punters who can interact with brewers while taking in the aroma of freshly brewed beer.

Tom Ball was one of the original brewers in what Mr Howe called an "artisan" brewery.

"We used to be a 1000-litre brewery. Everything was done by hand, these guys used to have wooden paddles and stir," he said.

Now, they can brew up to 600,000 litres each year.

They will also soon have an additional 16 taps with all 10 Mount Brewing Co and six Funk Estate beers served on the opposite side of the bar.

The bar, owned by Glenn and Virginia Meikle, also has a new function area that can cater for 100 people.

General manager Lisa Rooney said Johney's Dumpling House was a huge hit with punters.

"A lot of people will come here for Johney's Dumplings as well as Mount Brewing Co," she said.

"It is a destination - people have to think about their way here and way back. They make an effort to come here and stay for a few hours."

She said the bar did not have a set customer base. "It is all families, functions, different breweries, businessmen, the guys after work.

"We have one table of locals who have been here forever who always come."

The Rising Tide also collaborated with local businesses including The Little Big Markets who designed and marketed the bar.

Judges said The Rising Tide created a genuine oasis in an industrial area.

"It is a true transformation from what it used to be to what it is now. It is filled with light and locals and has a very strong point of difference with a working brewery.

"It is a beautiful combination of beer and sociality."