Retro Kaiapoi cafe serves up a slice of nostalgia – and cheese rolls

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Ris'tretto Espresso Bar owners Andrew and Cath Weir have opened a cafe in North Canterbury paying homage to some of the best decades of days gone by.

A North Canterbury cafe with retro decor is ensuring the theme flows through to the food cabinet, with one important snack that’s had a resurgence – the cheese roll.

Priced at $3.50 each, the Weirs are keeping their cheese roll recipe close to their chests. They were previously served at Hornby High School, gaining a following from the teachers.

The classic South Island snack has been “very popular,” Ris’tretto Espresso Bar Kaiapoi owner Andrew Weir said, and the recipe, from cafe staff member Leeann Jackson, is a closely guarded secret.

Weir wanted “something a little bit different” for the Kaiapoi cafe, which includes retro furniture and some old-school slices, including walnut and coffee.

The cheese mixture rolled in white bread was a hit when Jackson made them for the Hornby High School canteen. “The teachers were big fans,” Weir said, “so we thought we’d give them a crack here.”

Along with the regular menu, there are plenty of gluten-free savouries and sweets, due to Weir being gluten intolerant.

The rolls are just one of the throw-backs to days gone by at the cafe, where the kitsch print Tina overlooks the entry, Formica tables and their colourful vinyl chairs invite customers, and a Pac-Man arcade machine allows gamers to chomp down on enemy ghosts.

An arcade machine invites people to revisit their youth, with games including Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong.

“We wanted to introduce a bit of nostalgia … a mix between 1950s through to 70s. We just didn’t want to open something that was standard, it’s something a little bit different.”

Weir opened Ris’tretto on Barbadoes St in 2008, where he also began roasting award-winning beans. It was later sold in 2013 but he continues to train the baristas and supply the coffee.

Weir and his wife, Cath, opened the cafe in April, a space not far from their home in Waikuku Beach, where Weir has been roasting the award-winning Ris’tretto coffee beans from his shed on their 10-acre property for some years.

Hospitality has been the couple’s life since they launched onto the scene with Bagel Heaven on New Regent St in 2003, selling it in 2006 before Weir began roasting coffee beans on Barbadoes St and opening the original Ris’tretto Cafe at the same site in 2008.

The cafe the couple opened recently is not far from their home in Waikuku Beach, where Weir roasts Ris’tretto coffee beans in his shed on the 10-acre property.

The cafe won accolades in the New Zealand Coffee Awards for three consecutive years under the Weirs’ ownership, and again in 2015 after they sold it in 2013.

To this day, it still serves Ris’tretto coffee, with Weir visiting weekly to train baristas, but the coffee competition held its final event in 2015.

If coffee is Weir’s strength, his super power is gluten-free food, due to being gluten intolerant himself.

Caramel slices, cheese scones and savoury roulades are some of the gluten-free options, while toasties, soups and fritters accommodate customers with no dietary requirements – all priced about $1 cheaper than the same items elsewhere, Weir said.

“We know that people are under the crunch.”

* Ris’tretto Espresso Bar is at 6 Ohoka Rd, Kaiapoi.