Pie shop flies to success in Wellington Airport-owned space
Tuesday, 4 March 2025
A new pie shop has opened in Lyall Bay, and its owner says he has been blown away by the customer response.
Puku Pies & Kai is the latest eatery to open in the Lyall Bay Junction, in one of the four storefronts that are owned by Wellington Airport.
Alongside a range of pies, the bakery offers coffee and other baked goods. On Friday, the eatery was bustling with customers, and owner Jamie Williams said the store, which opened February 24, was exceeding expectations.
With its close proximity to the beach, the eatery was getting a sizeable amount of foot traffic, he said.
“I don't know why, but we just keep selling out, and having to keep making more and more of everything. So it's been just a runaway train.”
Williams said he had previously owned the hospitality company Kāpura, but had decided to branch away from bars and restaurants into something different.
He had been looking for a site for Puku Pies for a while, Williams said, and had found the Lyall Bay location really appealing.
As he was based in Johnsonville, he was quickly learning how difficult the commute across the city could be, he joked.
As for his favourite flavour of pie, Williams said he was a mince and cheese guy
“It’s been my staple for my life. But I've had to try about 20 different types of pies over the last couple of months as we've been trying different products, so I have sort of grown to like other ones.”
He said Wellington Airport had been great to deal with as landlords, as they’d taken a vested interest in how well the eatery had opened.
“It's nice to have a landlord that has taken a real interest in the site, rather than the normal landlord-tenant relationships which are reasonably transactional.”
Williams said he wanted to thank all the customers who had supported the business over the previous week.
“It just feels like really good vibes. It's really cool.”
Wellington Airport commercial general manager Richard Dalby said the airport was proud to be investing in Lyall Bay.
“This area is a jewel in Wellington’s crown and a real bright spot of development and positivity.
“This is already a popular place for shopping, dining and spending time at the beach and we’re confident Puku will quickly become a must-visit destination for anyone in the area.”
Southward Distillery had opened in one of the airport-owned Lyall Bay Junction spots last year, and there were plans to possibly build a toilet and shower block next to Spruce Goose further down the road, Dalby said.
Further plans for Lyall Bay included a patio area proposed to be built behind Huetepara Park, Dalby said, and construction on a new Airport Fire Station was already underway.