Pizza house opens at Ohakune Junction

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 50, 27 May 1986, Page 22

Pizza house opens at Ohakune Junction

Ohakune's new pizza restaurant, "La Pizzeria" opened at Ohakune Junc? tion on Saturday. The pizza house has been set up by Czechoslovakian Jaroslav Pochyba and his Australian wife, Ruth. They bought the property about eight years ago with a view to starting a business but decided to wait until the town developed before they opened. Since last October the couple have ben remodelling the front of the house as the retaurant. They live at the rear of the premises. The Pochybas serve five varieties of pizza, including one with a seafood topping. A different hot meal will also be on the menu each day including such dishes as lasagne, stroganoff, stuffed capsicum and meat balls. Homemade soups, such as minestrone and Hungar-

ian goulash, will help keep out winter chills. During the ski season they will also serve meals such as bacon and egg rolls and croissants for breakfast. "We want to serve wholesome, homemade meals at reasonable prices,"said Mrs Pochyba. They also sell drinks such as rum and hot chocolate, cappuccino and expresso coffees. A BYO licence means diners can bring their own wine. Hours of business at La Pizzeria are flexible. On days when the skifield is closed they will stay open all day, but when it is fine they will open for breakfasts and dinners, and then all day during weekends and school holidays. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere with brassware and old bottles which the Pochybas have collected. Mr Pochyba said they have gone to a lot of trouble and expense to make La Pizzeria

look good, inside and out. "If the place looks bad, people will think the food is bad," he said. Mr and Mrs Pochyba came to New Zealand 12 years ago and opened a Wellington BYO restaurant, the "Van Gogh", where they served French cuisine. Two years later they started a licensed French restaurant in Eastbourne with the same name. After five years, they moved to Auckland and operated a city lunch restaurant, "Cafe by the Park". They sold the cafe last year after four years there. - The Pochybas have a house in Mission Bay, Auckland, where they will return during summer. Mr Pochyba said that they had always worked very hard in their restaurants so now they will work in the winter at La Pizzeria and have a holiday during the summertime.