Julians Berry Farm & Cafe Marks 50th Anniversary

Julians Berry Farm & Cafe opened its doors this morning for the start of its 50th season.

The Berry Farm & Cafe was started by Paul Julian's parents, Joan and David. They purchased a property on Whakatāne's Shaw Road in 1975 which had a some blueberries on it.

Inspired by a culture of pick-your-own that already existed on nearby properties, Paul said he and his brother would work on the farm during the school holidays and then when he was home from university.

Paul married Monica and together in 2001, they had the opportunity to buy a new property for the farm next to the main highway.

"We moved Julian's Berry Farm from Shaw Road to Huna Road and we just went on that crazy ride where every year we got busier and busier," said Paul.

"There's a famous story about [how] we bought our first ice cream machine, and then three weeks later we had to buy a second one, and by the end of the season we had three, and now we have seven, because we just kept selling more and more ice creams. Our record ice cream sales in one day was 1,500 ice creams, which is a lot of ice creams."

Paul said it's a privilege to have a business that's well-liked and well-respected. The business is known for it's student staff that work during their summer and university holidays.

Paul said one of the things they are most proud of is the amount of staff that return year after year as their lives develop.

"We’ve always found it interesting that, when we go to field days, other growers often complain about staffing. Monica and I have always been puzzled by that, because staff has actually been one of the things we enjoy the most at the Berry Farm. Our staff are usually amazing, full of energy, positive, capable, and we’re always really happy with them."

"We love having them come back as adults, either bringing their new partners or families and showing them where they used to work. Seeing the contribution that we've been able to make to the community with providing work, with providing an enjoyable activity, is something we're really proud of."

When asked the secret to seeing crowds continue to flock to the berry farm every year, Paul said that attention to detail has been a hallmark of the business.

"Just making sure the toilets are clean, making sure if you're advertising strawberries, that you've actually got strawberries. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make sure that when a customer comes out, they're going to get what they expected, they get what's advertised, and we have to work really hard to make that happen. It involves fixing things quickly, it involves coming up with plan B's, so I think attention to detail is one of the hallmarks of a good business."

"Monica and I still come to work every day and are both working alongside the staff every day. People always say, 'Oh why don't you put in a manager?' But I think we've all been to those kind of businesses where the owner's not there and they've got a manager in place. I think you can notice that very quickly."

"So we're there with our staff, putting in an extra 10%. We're there coaching, complimenting, encouraging, and sometimes correcting."

When asked about the challenges, Paul replied that the weather makes him want to cry sometimes.

"The weather is always a big challenge. Today for example, we just had a lot of rain overnight. We got a lot of flooding in the strawberries, we got a lot of flooding in our car park, the volleyball court's flooded." "The weather affects the berries. Customers sometimes come out and they don't understand why the berries are all deformed or less than perfect. And so you're always battling the weather, but that's a normal problem for a lot of tourism activities, a lot of farmers."

"I hope people remember us for investing in the community — through providing work and sponsorship. I hope they remember us as people who worked hard, which is a value Monica and I both hold strongly. And I hope they remember us for treating our staff kindly and respectfully." Paul says.

"Treating people well — that’s enough of a legacy, I think."