New Zealand's oldest pub is now up for sale after 15 years of ownership.
The 173 year-old Moutere Inn, located just outside Nelson, has been owned by David Watson and Andrew Cole for the last 15 years. The departure has been a bittersweet one.
"After 15 years you connect with a lot of people locally and staff and everything like that, so bittersweet is a good way of putting it," Watson told Breakfast.
What made the pair hop on to the idea of buying the pub was their shared love for craft beer.
"So, we were all interested in craft beer which was in its very early stages at that point, and this was a great local pub that we all knew and one thing led to another. We talked to the owners about buying it... and they came back a year later and we got into it," Watson said.
But, 15 years later, Watson and Cole thought it was time.
"Well, 15 years in, it just seems like it's time," they said.
"Yeah, pretty much, 15 years in hospitality is quite a while."
The Inn was originally built by Cordt Bensemann, a German who learned about New Zealand at Queen Victoria's coronation. It was completed in 1853 and was granted a licence four years later, according to its website.
The pub is located in upper Moutere village and is home to a local ceramic artist and a potter's studio as well.
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