A Good Story

WORDS DAVID WRIGLEY | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

“Both of our families are full of storytellers,” says Bridie Osborne, who along with husband Kane owns and runs Storyteller Bar and Eatery in Te Awamutu.

“My Dad in particular is known around the community as liking a good yarn. My whole experience of growing up was sitting around a table with good food and good wine, telling stories.” When it came time to pick a name, Storyteller was the obvious choice. “We wanted to provide a space you can come in and share some stories with good food and good wine. The name just made sense.” For Bridie, combining family and business has a long history. Feeding and watering the locals of Te Awamutu and providing first class hospitality runs in her blood. Her father and mother, Michael and Faye, started The Redoubt pub just down the road in 1999 and it was there Bridie cut her teeth and fell in love with hospitality, working as a chef and front of house right up until the time the pub was sold in 2016. Whatever curveballs might get thrown their way, Bridie has the experience and know-how to cope. Bridie and Kane are keen to encourage a strong sense of family and community. They work hard to foster a vibrant team culture amongst the mostly young and local staff. They sponsor the local junior rugby, netball, and football teams’ player of the day awards. And, most importantly, they make sure they always have time to stop and chat with customers, whether they be regulars or firsttime patrons. As soon as you step inside Storyteller you are met by the happy hum of conversation. More often than not Bridie or Kane will be there at the door to greet you. The bar itself is a warm and inviting space with shelves heaving with leatherbound books, photographs of Bridie and Kane’s family on the walls, plenty of armchairs and an overstuffed sofa. There is a fantastic little retro caravan in the small yard outside set up for kids to play in. On the weekends the pub is full to bursting with families enjoying an afternoon out together. Appropriately for a bar that aims to get people swapping stories around a table, the food menu is big on sharing plates. The bites and the flatbreads sections give plenty of options to share between friends and with interesting and delicious offerings like mussel fritti, karaage fried chicken, and the Moroccan lamb flatbreads there’s no shortage of talking points to keep the conversation flowing. For those who would rather not share there are plenty of great options like eye fillet steak, charred lamb rack, and an

excellent house cheeseburger. Bridie and Kane try to source their ingredients as locally as possible, a wise idea when situated in the heart of a thriving farming community. Kane is keen to emphasise the positivity around Storyteller and around Te Awamutu generally. As a working farmer and former stock agent as well as a consummate publican, Kane has his finger on the pulse of the community. “Things are good. There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the news but round here people are doing pretty well. Te Awamutu is growing, the farmers are getting decent pay-outs, we’re just getting busier and busier.” The same positivity extends to the potentially tricky business of having a spouse as both a business partner and co-worker. “It’s definitely brought us closer together,” say Bridie. “I think it’s cool for the customers to see the husband-and-wife dynamic between Kane and me. Kane’s very much the stop-andhave-a-yarn guy and I’m much more the head down, rushing around one. The regulars see that and have a laugh with us about it and they feel like they’re a part of everything.” Storyteller feels every inch the community hub Bridie and Kane set out to create. For the two of them it’s “all about the people” and that attitude shines through in every square foot of the bar. The guests may come for the excellent food and drink offerings, but it’s the welcoming family atmosphere and of course the stories that keep them coming back.

Storyteller Eatery & Bar 221 Mahoe Street, Te Awamutu www.storytellerbar.co.nz

DAVID WRIGLEY

David is a freelance writer based in Cambridge. His work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian and Noble Rot. He is a veteran of over 20 years in the London restaurant scene.