New owners of Te Aute's Paper Mulberry Cafe in Hawke's Bay

While former owner Anna White is moving on, the friendly cafe cat "Mulberry" will still be in residence. Photo / Warren Buckland

There's been a change of guard at the Paper Mulberry Cafe, the distinctive, quirky eatery on SH2 at Te Aute that's become something of an institution in Central Hawke's Bay.

Owner Anna White took over the reins from former owners Dave and Lynne Robertson six years ago, but signed the business over to new owner Sophie Reeves who took over this week.

Ms White said the move was prompted by her partner taking up a job managing a farm in Gisborne, where the pair moved to five months ago.

Only four weeks away from having her first baby, she said she had been commuting back and forth from Gisborne since then as she waited for it to sell.

"It's a bit sad to be leaving but also exciting to start a new adventure and family."

Ms Reeves had been working at the cafe full time for the past couple of years, and would continue to maintain the business, with its focus on quality, homemade food made from locally sourced produce, with no doubt a few new touches of her own, Ms White said.

A former Sunday School hall, it started its new life as a cafe in 1998 when the Robertson's and the community transformed the derelict building into the rustic, character-filled venue it is today.

Before that Ms White, whose farming family came from Otane, remembered attending a playcentre there, and it had hosted community activities ranging from anything from ballet lessons to badminton.

As a cafe, it continued as a community hub, and also built up a reputation for some of its menu items, including its famous sweetcorn fritters.

"I was lucky to keep the recipe for those, and we've also developed a pretty good following for our steak and kidney pies, and cheese and date scones since then," she said.

Although the building was given an exterior paint job when she took over, it hadn't been changed much over the years under her ownership.

"I like its rustic feel, everyone feels comfortable coming in, but there's lots of room for the new owner to put her own stamp on it now."