Business Beat: Family market trims butchery side

Renwick lost a tiny slice of history recently with the closure of the township’s retail butchers. The Renwick Meat Market was started back in 1972 by Graham and Bev Adcock, and for much of the 54 years since then has been run by their sons Paul and Ian.

However, the High Street business will continue serving the community, as the premises are also home to a bakery that produces a popular range of baked goods and pies, all made from scratch on site.

Brothers Paul and Ian will remain closely involved with that side of things alongside all the existing staff; and although the retail meat business has gone, they will continue home-kill processing for many of their customers.

Paul, who joined the butchery business straight from school, says the changes are aimed at improving overall life/work balance. In particular, he hopes it will free up more time to spend with his parents, now both in their mid-80s, and other family members, including several grandchildren.

Blenheim has long been a contender for the title of New Zealand’s sunniest town. Now, it seems, we may also be on course to become the nation’s fittest, if the growing number of gyms and other fitness centres is any indication.
Among the latest additions is the Daylight Training Club tucked away upstairs in Queen’s Market Mall.

Owner Chloe van der Burgh explains the name: “Daylight” because it operates during the day unlike the succession of previous occupants, after-dark nightclubs stretching back to the heady days of Level 42; and “Training Club” because, rather than a regular gym, Chloe and her team focus solely on classes -- the first just after 5am, the last at 5:30pm – all tailored to specific goals.

Classes cover cardio, strength training and calisthenics plus something called Hyrox, a fearsome endurance workout involving eight core exercises with a 1km run or cycle between each. Veejay Raizada is the fulltime coach, with Jess Waters and Gannon Karena coaching part-time.

Wye Hills — a 1360-hectare farming operation with beef cattle, sheep, deer and a vineyard, plus all the in-house crop sowing, harvesting and baling — took out last year’s Marlborough Farmer of the Year title. Now owners Jason Rentoul and his wife, Chelsea Hudson, are planning to launch yet another product: Wye Hills Honey.

The honey will be gathered from 120 hives dotted around the Wairau Valley property. Rentoul has been looking after the hives for about 10 years, but previously the honey was only sold wholesale.

Julie McDonald has sold Ritual Café, on Maxwell Road, just three months shy of notching seven years as owner of the Blenheim eatery. Her last day will be on Saturday while the new owners, with all the existing café staff still in place, take over next Monday.

McDonald says she and her husband will be moving to Lyttelton, attracted partly by the funky vibe of the bustling port town but more by being closer to two sons living in Christchurch.

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