The city’s airport cafe is set to reopen with local Christy-Lee Kooyman launching “The Landing Zone” cafe.
The cafe will operate Friday to Sunday, and will open an hour before the first flight of the day and remain open until 3pm (subject to flight schedules).
Mrs Kooyman, who has 15 years experience in the hospitality industry, said the enthusiasm already shown by the community for the new cafe was incredibly encouraging.
“I’ve spent most of my career in the hospitality industry, and seeing the space vacant for so long made me think about what the town needed,” she said.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity to open something back up out there.
“I’m feeling really excited, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the community reaction and the support for me to be opening the cafe back up.”
Although the cafe draws significant trade from travellers, it has long been a favourite secluded spot for social and community groups to gather and enjoy a meal and coffee.
Mrs Kooyman said there would be a focus on ensuring the cafe remains a welcoming quiet getaway for locals.
“We really hope to continue to draw locals out for a coffee and cake even if they’re not travelling,” said Mrs Kooyman.
“We want to provide our customers with a really friendly environment to ensure they keep come back, and once we’re established we’ll look to provide a range of weekly specials to make sure there’s some variety for our regulars.”
Preparations are now underway to reopen the cafe and The Landing Zone is expected to open in mid-November.
