‘People arrived expecting to order coffee’ - historic former cafe turned family home on market

In its 155-year lifespan the historic Speargrass Inn, a Central Otago property on Fruitlands-Roxburgh Road, Alexandra, has brought a lot of people, a lot of joy.

Opened in 1870 it served miners and travellers moving through the early settlements of the region.

More than a century later, the property underwent a complete rebirth when it was transformed into the much-loved Fruitlands Café and Gallery, a place where locals gathered for long lunches among the gardens.

For Sandy Curbitt, those memories stretch back decades. “We used to come with the kids in the late 80s and 90s. It was a café and it was always packed, with beautiful gardens and really lovely food,” she says.

By the time she returned with her daughter and grandchildren years later, after a truck accident closed the road, the café had changed hands and periods of closure meant she hadn’t seen it in a while. A waitress recognised her interest and took her upstairs, through the rooms where the chef once lived and out to the self-contained units built later for wedding guests.

“It was really lovely, because even though we’d been here before, I’d never been up there,” Sandy says.

Two months later, the property came on the market. She and her husband were in the middle of selling their home. “It was perfect timing,” she says. “I went to my husband and said, we need to buy this property.”

They purchased it in 2018, not as a business but as a full-time home. While the listing included the commercial operation, the pair wanted it only as a residence. And, as Sandy notes, the bones of that original 1980s restoration were already exceptional.

“Those people in the 80s just completely restored this place,” she says. “It was brought back to a shell. They gutted the whole of the inside of it. They did such an amazing job, because it’s an old building.”

The integrity of that renovation meant the interior required very little. “We didn’t do much to the main house, just maybe some lighting and a bit of painting,” Sandy says. “The house is pretty much as it was, but it was always very tidy anyway.”

Instead, their efforts focused on the exterior. With no boundary fencing, people still arrived daily expecting to order coffee, so the couple undertook a full fencing project. They added rabbit-proofing around the land and turned their attention to the outbuildings, including the small structure they now call the “Whisky Room”. Previously prone to mice, it was completely predator-proofed, with new ceilings and floors, and its old coal range still works. “It’s a really cute wee room,” Sandy says.

Much of Sandy’s energy went into the garden and her favourite place is the view out to it from the courtyard. “It’s just magic,” she says. “You’re sitting among all the trees and the flowers. I’m looking at peonies that are opening, granny’s bonnet everywhere, and the foxgloves are about to come out.”

The pair also created an area for the spa pool, reshaped garden beds and added sculptural pieces. Living here brought the kind of drama Central Otago is celebrated for. Snow would settle on the Old Man Range behind the house, turning evenings in the spa into a spectacle. “As the sun went down, the whole of that range turned a beautiful pinky colour. It was pretty glorious.”

But what she will miss most are the stars. On clear nights, she says, “The whole sky is just lit up. It’s honestly amazing. It’s like you’re in another world.”

As a home, the property adapted easily to the comings and goings of a large blended family. The main house has five bedrooms, while the three studio units out the back -each have their own bathroom and sitting area. “When the kids came, they all would take a room each out the back.” Sandy says.

But the connection to the wider community remains strong. “There’s no one that doesn’t know Speargrass,” she says.

Locals speak fondly of functions held here, and many express a wish that it could reopen. Sandy agrees the setting is a great venue location. “It really lends itself to that,” she says. “If somebody was to buy it and turn it back into a business, a lot of people would be very happy.” Yet as a private home, it offers the same atmosphere in a more intimate way.

Family memories have been woven into the property over the years: marshmallows roasted over the fire pit, wedding celebrations spilling onto the lawn, grandchildren on their motorbikes riding under the trees.

Opting to return to Dunedin to be closer to her grandchildren, Sandy still hopes the next owners feel the same warmth she does about the property. “Just how it wraps itself around you,” she says. “It’s got an amazing feel. I think it’s a bit special.”

The property at 1300 Fruitlands-Roxburgh Road, Alexandra, Central Otago, is listed with Dee Labes and Peter Hishon of Tall Poppy Real Estate for deadline sale on December 2. The CV on the property is $1,090,000.

Cotality research puts the median house price in Fruitlands at $750,635.