The Big Cow pub a popular watering hole

Tourists love the big friesian cow and her calf. Photo / Supplied

The Te Poi country pub in the rural settlement of Te Poi on the main highway between Hamilton and Tauranga is being offered for sale as a freehold going concern for $495,000 plus stock of $15,000-$20,000.

The pub is on a 1549sq m site 10km south of Matamata at 11 Te Poi Rd and it is a popular stop-off point for car and motorcycle rallies. The pub is also registered with the motorhome and campervan clubs as a "park over" where touring members with self-contained vehicles are welcome to stay overnight free of charge.

"In addition to passing domestic and overseas tourist traffic, the Te Poi Country Pub services a large rural encirclement of dairy farms and horse studs," said John Staveley of Link Business Broking North Shore, who is marketing the business.

"The pub is well known for a number of concrete creatures that adorn the frontage which were the creation of Gordon Rose of Wellington who is now retired," Staveley said.

"In 1994-95 Gordon built a 6m cow and painted her in black and white friesian colours. He also gave the cow giant eyes that lit up at night and fitted her with speakers."

The cow became a local icon from which Te Poi got its nickname, The Big Cow.

"In 1995 Gordon came back with a calf and positioned this so people could sit on it and have their photographs taken and this is a regular occurrence with tourists today."

Among Rose's other concrete creations are three large moas in the pub's Moa Bar, a big kiwi, two large cream cans, a giant hamburger and a big golf ball.

"The pub is well known for its huge `Works Burgers' with people travelling considerable distances for them and other food the pub provides," Staveley said.

It was constructed in the 1960s as the main office block for the Sunny Park Dairy Factory and was purchased by Colin Sewell and Karen Raajen for conversion to a pub in 1993.

"Resource consent had to be obtained for the erection of the cow out front and objections were called for the building of the liquor outlet, which was a big issue at the time," said Staveley.

Several locals objected, but the Te Poi Country Pub with bar, restaurant and owner accommodation was officially opened by then Minister of Police John Luxton on July 16, 1995.

"The bar is very spacious and opens to a large beer garden at the rear of the pub," Stavely said. "It serves a good range of tap beers and has an excellent food menu."

The building has a floor area of 283sq m and, in addition to the bar area, there is a small commercial kitchen with a chiller tank room for the storage of keg beer and back loading bottle coolers. The attached flat features a master bedroom with walk-in wardrobe, a double bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge/dining with double doors to the backyard. Attached to the building is an enclosed area of 20sq m with a concrete floor.

The pub's opens Sundays to Thursdays inclusive from 8am to 11pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 8am to 1am the following morning.

Staveley says the pub represents good value for the asking price. "The rateable value for land and buildings is $460,000 with chattels at about $125,000. "For the year to March 2009, the business produced an operating surplus in excess of $100,000 and for the first three months of the current financial year the turnover is up 5 per cent on last year."

"The Te Poi Country Pub is an iconic landmark in the Waikato farming settlement of Te Poi," he said. "There are no licensed facilities nearby with the nearest being at Matamata."

Staveley believes Te Poi Country Pub will appeal to a husband and wife or partnership who will undertake most of the work themselves. The current owners employ three permanent/part-time staff, a cleaner and two bar/kitchen staff.

"The Matamata Piako District Council has restricted the number of sites for gaming machines in its region and this pub doesn't have any."