Tokyo may be famed for its density of eateries, at 994 restaurants per 100,000 people – but it has nothing on a small island at the foot of New Zealand’s South Island.
With seven places to eat regularly and a population of about 400 people, Stewart Island (also known as Rakiura) would have 1,750 eateries per 100,000 people if it was a major international city. But for many locals, being in a tiny town at the bottom of the world is part of the charm.
Less than a decade ago, around the time Prince Harry dropped by the local pub during the Sunday night quiz, there were only four eateries on Stewart Island (not including the local Four Square supermarket).
But as more and more tourists arrive, so do new residents looking to cater for them. Maggie George and Simon Moir are South Island transplants who opened The Snuggery cafe in 2022. A stone’s throw from the sapphire-blue waters of Halfmoon Bay, their cafe specialises in cheese rolls, an important part of the culinary identity in the lower South Island but previously hard to come by on Stewart Island.
George says their arrival was welcomed by existing residents. “Everyone’s happy to have options – options keep locals happy and other businesses from being rushed off their feet in summer.”
It’s easy to see what draws visitors to the island. There is one town, no traffic lights and much of the rest of the land (85%) is national park.
Even the pandemic – which closed New Zealand’s borders to international visitors – barely dinted Stewart Island’s summer crowds. That’s because it was one of the most remote locations New Zealanders could visit without leaving the country. Visitation peaked at 43,991 during the 2018-19 high season, but there were still 41,988 visitors in 2020-2021.
Now that New Zealand’s borders have been open again for over a year, accommodation providers on the island predict this coming season could exceed the record.
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With its wooden blue panels and white picture windows, from the outside, The Snuggery lives up to its name. The site once housed the island’s museum – which moved to a new building in 2020 – and is steps away from its only school. George and Moir live on site, their home decorated like a retro bach (slang for a small holiday home), complete with 1970s-era TV, formica tables and lots of brown and beige.
About 300 metres away on Main Road, and also true to its name, is The Old Butchershop Cafe; it’s a few doors down from Healthy Food Cafe; while the South Sea hotel, Prince Harry’s pub of choice, sits on the corner of Main Road and Elgin Terrace.
There are two food trucks: Kai Kart and Fin & Feather Eatery, the latter open from late spring to mid-autumn (in winter, rain and icy temperatures tend to keep tourists away). In June this year, Rakiura Distilling Company – which claims to be the country’s southernmost distillery – started selling their debut gin. The launch was so popular, their website crashed due to the number of people trying to place orders.
But more visitors and more food options raises the possibility of the island’s culture changing, says Dr Craig Lee, formerly a senior lecturer in tourism at the University of Otago in Dunedin and now associate professor of tourism at the University of South Australia.
“On one hand, it adds vibrancy and allows for more consumer choice. Healthy competition among restaurants can also help uplift overall standards across the sector,” he says.
“On the other hand, we have seen instances where a ‘local’ place loses its charm by becoming too ‘touristic’; and the opposite can also occur where a local place becomes unfriendly or hostile towards serving visitors.”
Popular destinations in Europe have imposed cruise ship bans, selfie fines and even stay-away ad campaigns, and there are lessons to be learned from local pushback against overtourism, Lee says.
He points to Cathedral Cafe, a small cafe in the US state of West Virginia, as an example of how a business can balance the needs of both locals and visitors. Tourism in the area increased during the pandemic when a national park opened nearby, but the cafe helped locals adjust and feel included in the community by having staff take the time to get to know the locals who came in.
Chris and Deanne Sara, who opened Church Hill Lodge on Stewart Island in 1999, credit a similar approach to their business’s longevity. “Wanting to be an islander and not just a restaurateur is the important thing, I believe,” Chris says. “You will work harder for a home than just money.”
That, and “being able to create a business that can survive a seasonal turnover”.
The lodge and fine-dining restaurant even trained up one of the island’s newer businesses. Kadin Conner worked at Church Hill as a chef from 2019 to 2020. Then, in November 2020, he opened Fin & Feather Eatery, Stewart Island’s second food truck (the first, Kai Kart, is run by his aunt, Sue Graham).
The truck is open in high season (mid-apring to early-autumn), and on Sundays they always serve freshly made doughnuts. “We have quite a local following for them,” says Conner. “It’s a real island tradition, and helps with being present in the community.”
Conner says locals are mostly meeting Stewart Island’s changes with positivity.
“Other than the tourists walking in the middle of the road, we’re glad to have them. We love to show off our community – there’s a lot of pride. We live here because we love it.”
He says even with the changes, the island has maintained its sense of community. “No one’s competing with each other – everyone’s filling their own niche.”
Chris Sara agrees: “The new businesses are run by people with a passion for creating something special.”
On occasion, Conner helps out in the kitchen at the South Sea hotel, when there are staff shortages. He says it is the island way to help each other out. “It’s a small community. You don’t want to see your mates working super hard and not being able to take time off when they’re just knackered. We look after each other.”
At The Snuggery, George says about 80% of the people who buy their cheese rolls are locals, but they’re more than just customers. They’re fellow islanders who deliver the cafe’s freight when George and Moir are too busy to pick it up themselves, or gift items to help decorate the cafe.
That tight-knit community is exactly what drew them to Stewart Island in the first place, she says. “It’s pretty special to have such an abundance of caring people in our lives.”
