Stockist Spotlight: The Fat Birds Family

Across the King Country, a small group of hospitality businesses share the same simple focus: good food, quality coffee, and genuine country welcome. What began 17 years ago with Fat Pigeon Café has grown into a connected family of venues that includes Fat Owl Motel, Bar & Eatery in Piopio, Fat Kiwi Café in Ōtorohanga, and the newest addition, Fat Fantail Gifts & Coffee in Te Kūiti.

Volare has been part of that story for a decade. The relationship started at Fat Pigeon when Volare itself was still establishing its name, and has since extended into Fat Owl’s eatery and catering, and more recently into the retail offering at Fat Fantail. Each business has its own identity, but the commitment to warm hospitality, reliable quality and community remains constant.

Here’s a closer look at the three venues.

Fat Pigeon Café.
Where it all began.

Melanie Simpson established Fat Pigeon Café 17 years ago from a desire to create a warm, relaxed place where people could enjoy quality coffee, generous food and genuine country hospitality. It quickly became the foundation for the wider group of businesses now connected through the Fat Birds identity.

From the beginning the café has been about making locals feel known and visitors feel immediately welcome. Familiar faces, conversation and personal service sit alongside the food and coffee. A typical day starts with preparing the cabinet and coffee for morning regulars, moves into café meals and cabinet food at lunchtime, and uses the quieter moments for restocking and planning ahead.

Fat Pigeon is not a Volare retail stockist. Instead, Volare products are used in the café menu, cabinet food and catering. The team values the flavour, freshness, consistency and how well the breads work with the food they prepare. Ciabatta and sourdough-style loaves are enduring favourites for toasties, sandwiches and café meals — providing good texture and flavour without overpowering the fillings. The reliability of the product is just as important as the taste, helping the team maintain the standard customers expect day after day.

The greatest reward, the team say, is the loyalty of customers who have made the café part of their routine. Long-standing supplier relationships, including the one with Volare, provide continuity and help the business keep delivering quality through changing times.

Fat Owl Motel, Bar & Eatery.
A place to stay, dine and celebrate.

Twelve years ago Melanie bought Fat Owl in Piopio and has steadily built it into a multi-purpose hospitality destination. Guests come for overnight stays, hearty meals, private functions, weddings and off-site catering, often all within the same week.

No two days are quite the same. Motel guests may be checking out while the kitchen prepares for lunch and dinner service. Enquiries come in for group bookings, functions and catering. Evenings bring a mix of locals, motel guests, families and travellers into the bar and eatery. Weekends often include private functions or sporting groups, and the wedding season is one of the busiest times in the kitchen.

Fat Owl is not a retail stockist either. Volare products are used within the eatery and catering menus because of their consistent quality, flavour and versatility. Pain Au Levain, San Francisco Sourdough, and other sourdough loaves work particularly well for sandwiches, toasties, platters and shared catering options. Reliability matters especially when catering for larger groups, where every item needs to look good, taste good and perform well in service.

What has stayed true is the belief that good hospitality is about more than the food on the plate. It is about comfort, conversation, reliability and creating an experience people want to return to — whether they are staying the night, gathering for a meal, or celebrating a special occasion.

Fat Fantail Gifts & Coffee.
The newest addition

On the sunny side of Rora Street in Te Kūiti sits Fat Fantail Gifts & Coffee. In June 2026 the business was reimagined and relaunched by owners Melanie Simpson, Niki Needham and Jaimee Poole, evolving from the previous floristry and coffee offering known as Blooms & Brews.

The rebrand reflected a shared vision of creating a welcoming space that celebrates great coffee, thoughtful gifts and genuine country hospitality. Doors open at 7.00am, mornings begin with regulars stopping in for their daily coffee and a chat, while travellers are often pleasantly surprised to find the store open early. Throughout the day the team brew Ozone Coffee, serve fresh cabinet food, prepare gift boxes and hampers, and restock shelves with products from Waikato artisan makers. Complimentary gift wrapping is part of the experience because the little touches matter.

Here Volare also has a retail presence. Customers enjoy the range of Danish pastries, Focaccia Folds and Turkish Pide, along with breads such as the Cumin, Onion & Turmeric Sourdough, Ciabatta and Pain au Levain. The team describe the atmosphere as feeling like sitting in your Nan’s kitchen — warm, welcoming and full of conversation. On Saturday mornings the footpath is often lined with locals catching up over coffee before rugby, families meeting for toasties or a Reuben Sammy made with Volare bread, and travellers who have heard about the place from friends.

While the name has changed, the heart of the business remains the same: creating a place where locals and visitors feel at home from the moment they walk through the door.

What links Fat Pigeon, Fat Owl, Fat Kiwi and Fat Fantail is a shared belief in doing the fundamentals well, good food, quality coffee, reliable suppliers and genuine welcome. Volare has been one of the threads running through that story for ten years, used in café and catering food at Fat Pigeon, Fat Owl, Fat Kiwi, and available to take home from Fat Fantail.

We’ll be sharing a separate Chef Series feature with the team at Fat Kiwi soon. In the meantime, if you’re travelling through the King Country, these four businesses offer different ways to experience the same warm hospitality. Stop in for a coffee and cabinet food, stay the night and enjoy a meal, or browse the gifts while the kids (or the adults) enjoy a pastry. You’ll be welcomed like family.