Once-popular pit stop cafe halfway between Nelson and Christchurch mysteriously abandoned

A decades-old cafe had once been a popular stop for weary travellers during the 400km journey between Nelson and Christchurch.

Just a few kilometres short of being exactly halfway between thecities, Springs Junction’s Alpine Motor Inn and Cafe couldn’t be in a more perfect position.

However, the handwritten sign on the door of the once popular pit stop reads: “Closed. Staff annual leave.”​

The building is showing signs of abandonment with the street front windows boarded up and waiting to be repaired after a car crashed into part of it. Duct tape is peeling off the sign.

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The accommodation and restaurant has been closed since November with no set date to reopen.

Its absence (the food trucks that appeared while State Highway 1 was closed after the Kaikōura quakes are also long gone) leaves Springs Junction’s only food offerings the ice creams, coffees and pies at the GAS fuel station and mechanics over the road.

Nearly 1500 vehicles go through the Lewis Pass each day.

Reefton, 30 minutes east of the Lewis Pass pit stop, is the closest town with a range of amenities – including supermarkets, cafes, and a chemist.

Murchison 80 kilometres north is the closest refreshment stop on State Highway 65, and Culverden is the closest to the south, more than 80 minutes away.

Alpine Inn owner Jerry Hohneck, a Queenstown business identity, said staff from China and Malaysia were on annual leave as they had not been able to see their families since Covid-19.

He, too, was on holiday, “catching up on a break”, and the builder needed to repair the building.

“R and r, so no set date,” he said in a text message. “Will open when I’m ready.”

Reefton businessman David Price said the establishment had been in decline for some time.

Coaches stopped pulling in at the cafe north of the mountain pass about 20 years ago, he said, while in years gone by, “bus loads used to stop there”.

“You can always tell a good road cafe by the number of trucks outside.”

In recent times, they seemed to carry on through, he said.

TripAdvisor reviews ranged from excellent to poor. “Don’t stop here,” said one who did not enjoy their chicken. “Great lunch,” said another who ordered the vegan burger and fries.

Renwick Transport Ltd driver trainer Chris Timms said the truck drivers travelling between the top of the south and Christchurch only stopped in Springs Junction to refuel at the NPD station around the corner, using Murchison or Culverden for their food and drinks stops instead.

He had not realised the cafe had closed and said it was “a bit sad, you never know when you [are going to] want a drink”.

One traveller caught out this week was Motueka man Tom Mulcahey, who made the journey to and from Christchurch once or twice a year.

“I was looking forward to a coffee, perhaps a bite to eat. It seems there is nothing available now,” he said.

“It’s a very nice place to stop with the surrounding scenery. But it’s a long way to Murchison, a long way to Culverden.

“It’s all very well set up for many people stopping, but no-one does any more.”

Big Chill depot manager Nathan Hyde said overall, only a few trucks drove through the scenic route between Christchurch and Nelson (SH6 and SH7) as most travelled on the coastal SH1.

The trucks that did pass through were often on the road at night, outside business trading hours, he said.

A Reefton resident, who did not want to be named, said part of the cafe’s demise was the “lack of decent coffee”.

– Additional reporting by Debbie Jamieson