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What does a day in Manawatū look like for you?
Murray: Work.
Jules: What he said. No, but seriously our day does revolve a lot around the restaurants. I have two kids, so my work is generally done within school hours focusing on the admin, marketing and things like that. Once school is out my day is centred around the kids. The great thing about Palmy is everything is really accessible so it’s just a short drive between activities, it’s not impossible to have multiple activities to get to.
Murray: It is easy to get around. I live out in “the country”, it’s so peaceful with no real neighbours, then within 20 minutes I’m in the city and ready for work, it’s perfect. We are based here at the brewery most days and our other business is just a four-minute walk away through the CBD, we couldn't do that in many other cities. My role is more focused on the general oversight of the brewery and people so it’s nice to be able to easily get across both spots. We do like to find time to have a beer with the crew, so it’s normally a debrief around 2pm and we, of course, need to do some quality control of our brews at the same time.
Jules: Yip, an essential part of the job is trying the merchandise! We start the day with coffee, and end with a pint. We’re never missing anywhere for good coffee; Mouthwater is our go to, we also like Sublime and Arrosta, but there are so many great choices here.
What about if you get a day off work? What does the weekend look like for you both in Manawatū?
Jules: For me it’s just nice to spend time chilling with family and friends. Victoria Esplanade is a go-to for us, the kids love it. And we always find time to pop back into work for a drink! Everything is a five-minute drive so it’s pretty cruisy on the weekends, making plans on the fly.
Murray: Yeah, we try to unwind on the weekends. If we get out and about we like to do the tracks at Te Āpiti - Manawatū Gorge or head to Tōtara Reserve, there are so many beautiful, scenic spots around the region to check out. My wife is also a crazy foodie so we will often visit the many Asian food shops - the range in Palmerston North is great, you can get anything you can possibly want - and she will whizz up something delicious in the kitchen! Aside from that we are drawn back to work a lot because it is such a good spot, and we enjoy it here.
Jules: Friends often want to check out Brew Union and Libre when they’re in town visiting but we also like to head out to Āpiti Tavern, the food is good and there’s lots to do for the kids in the outdoor space. If it’s a wet day we also like the interactive play areas in Te Manawa or Palmerston North City Library, it’s really well resourced and has lots of activities on during the holidays.
You guys obviously have a love for good food or drinks. What are some of the spots around town you like to venture to if you aren’t coming into Brew Union or Libre?
Jules: There are so many great places around town! We love Knead, BABCO, Beaver and Bear, The Fat Farmer to name a few.
Murray: Yip, all of those and if we are going out for a treat it’s to Nero’s. Love it there! The tragedy of working in hospo is the hours aren’t too friendly for trying new places. Maybe we need to make a few work-related trips!
We know you’ve spent time in other parts of the world, what’s something that surprised you about Manawatū?
Murray: Just how easy it is to get around, the diversity of what’s on offer. People wouldn’t think of Palmy as being coastal but even the beach is only a 20-30 minute drive away. In the city there are lots of big open spaces, like Memorial Park, Victoria Esplanade and other playgrounds. And the new infrastructure keeps things interesting - He Ara Kotahi river pathway is a great example of that.
Jules: Totally. Manawatū punches above its weight for sure. We enjoy getting out along the river and are always discovering new things to do. We just came across Disc Golf at Linklater Reserve, the kids loved that!
It sounds like you are both passionate about the region. What’s the main reason that keeps you living here?
Jules: I am originally from Christchurch and have also experienced living in Auckland and Wellington and living here is the easiest place to live for sure. Everything I need to live with a family is here – we can decide at the drop of a hat to do something. There’s no major planning or military operation like I have experienced elsewhere.
Murray: For what we do it is a comparatively easy place to do business. The density of foot traffic perhaps isn’t the same as larger cities but there’s enough here for a little business like us. It’s an interesting place to be and it's got more of a community feel than other places. People are doing innovative things here, it’s fun!
Any plans for the future?
Jules: We are looking forward to getting out and about in the community a bit more. We had a bar at the CD Field Days, we featured at Sip & Savour which was enjoyed by all there on the day and of course will be at ¡Salud! Fest in October. That’s a great event! We’ve been to lots of different food and drink events across the world and ¡Salud! is one of the better ones we’ve seen of its size. We are always interested in trying new things and that is a great test lab to see what people are enjoying and what more we can do.
Murray: We’ve been brewing for nearly two decades and you can see the palate is shifting and continuing to change. As we try new things the beers develop as well - no beer is the same even if it has the same name! We also like to collaborate and have a revolving range of guest taps, which is pretty unusual for brew bars, so that’s fun for our customers too.
Check out Brew Union and Libre on socials to keep up to date with their new brews and events.
Palmerston North City i-SITE
The Square, Palmerston North
0800 MANAWATU
(626 292)
[email protected]
Feilding and District
Information Centre
Feilding Railway Station
61 Aorangi Street
+64 6 323 3318
[email protected]
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