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When Nyree and Joel Hobson moved to Red Beach six months ago, they were keen to find a business close to home, which they could operate and manage themselves.
With five children between them, aged from three years to 11, they saw the value of providing a family style restaurant that delivered quick and easy food at affordable prices.
When they looked at the former Joust Restaurant building, on Hibiscus Coast Highway, they say the beach “sealed the deal”.
“It was just what we were looking for,” Nyree says. “The premises are deceivingly spacious – with seating in the restaurant for 55 and a further 40 in the quiet function room at the rear of the building.”
The couple are no strangers to the hospitality industry. They have owned Mussel Rock in Kaitaia for nearly five years and Joel is a trained chef who has worked in cafes, restaurants and hotels in New Zealand and Australia.
He loves cooking seafood and meat, but is quickly honing his gourmet burger range as well.
“When people come up from the beach, they’re hungry so what’s on our menu is quick to deliver, but we’re not sacrificing quality or taste,” he says. “We use good quality buns and sauces, and just meat in our patties. The BBQ bacon burger is proving particularly popular.”
Kids are well catered for with their own menu, special shakes and ice creams.
The premises have been redecorated to reflect the laid-back beach theme, with new furniture and colour scheme.
The wood-fired pizza oven is being fired up for special occasions and the restaurant is opening early on weekends for breakfast. They also do takeaways.
Between juggling the demands of a young family and a new business, Joel and Nyree aren’t expecting to get a lot of spare time, but when they do they both love to play touch football and hockey.
