AS the Calder Freeway made for swifter road travel between Bendigo and Melbourne, it meant smaller towns through which the old highway used to journey risked becoming the places people almost forgot.
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Not so Kyneton. In the past 10 years it has slowly rejuvenated itself as a destination place thanks to drive and thoughtful planning from council and business.
Helping lead the charge has been Piper Street traders. And soon a new multi-million dollar retail development will add to the street’s appeal that increased in the past decade.
In the 1980s the street had been a treasure trove of antique shops for visitors to peruse. When the new freeway bypassed the town in the ’90s the town fell on hard times. The streets went quiet. People no longer stopped on their journey to queue for coffee in the handful of take away shops.
For newcomers to the area, it was ripe for opportunity. Fast forward a few years and Piper Street, and Kyneton in general, is now a prime destination and the home of award-winning restaurants, art galleries and fresh produce stores as day trippers once again wander the historic main street in search of good food, antiques and handmade wares.
Macedon Ranges Shire mayor Roger Jukes says Piper Street is a success story that would envy other regions as it brought millions of dollars in tourism, employment and development to the region.
“Through its life cycle it‘s been up and down for many years and for the past 10 years has been a consistent stayer: it will continue to work, employ and evolve,” Cr Jukes says. “It is a success story and the traders need to be commended for their action as the street promotes Victoria and influences the state, as well.”
One of the first stores to open in the street was the then-named Balcony on Piper, owned by Margaret Jasper, and a pre-cursor to the popular Emporium on Piper.
Margaret and her husband, Graham, have long been considered a driving force in developing the street and bringing people to the Macedon Ranges.
“When we opened the street was devoid of the vibrancy it has now,” she says. “But we could see it had potential.”
Margaret and I are excited and confident that the growing strength of the street will attract bespoke, unique retailers.
- Developer Graham Jasper
Developing the area, Cr Jukes says, took effort from traders, tourism bodies and council, but adds the Jaspers were instrumental in reinvigorating Piper Street.
“The Jaspers have taken Piper Street on as their own and have invested greatly in it,” he says. “They are great ambassadors for the district.”
The Grahams ‘retired’ to Kyneton from Melbourne in 2003. They had loved the area for a number of years and started investing in property in the region, including a striking beautiful blue stone building that would later go on to house Annie Smithers’ Bistrot.
But first the striking bluestone was home to Balcony on Piper. It was, says Margaret, the first upmarket business to open in the town for years. It had a restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and sold collectables and giftwares from around the world, including persian rugs.
After six months, spending 17-hour days in the kitchen five days a week was unsustainable. Change was needed, but getting a tenant for the building in the-then very quiet town nearly a decade ago was proving a task.
However, history took a turn for the better when Margaret had a chance meeting with Annie and a mutual friend in a park one day. Annie, Margaret says, was up for a challenge and took to the task with zeal. She had spent years in profile restaurants in Melbourne.
“I told her about the building and she was immediately interested. Thankfully, Annie saw the vision for the area, too. She was already well known for her food and that helped bring a lot of people to the area,” Margaret says.
Within months Balcony on Piper moved out of the bluestone, was rebranded as Emporium on Piper and opened in premises across the street. Annie Smithers’ Bistrot was then open for business.
Since Annie’s move to the region in 2005 a raft of chefs and restaurateurs have followed, making Piper Street one of the more popular eating precincts in the state, Cr Jukes says. Last year Annie sold her namesake restaurant to open Du Fermier in nearby Trentham. New owners Tim and Michelle Foster maintain a similar ethos in food and local produce to Annie.
In more recent years, Piper Street Food Company and St Beans Provedore are other eateries that are enjoying the resurgence of people wanting quality dining and weekend trips to the country.
Continuing her passion for the area, in 2010 Margaret opened another store, The Persian Room, dedicated to antique and new rugs sourced on buying trips to Iran.
Soon, the Jaspers will unveil a new $3.8 million retail development that they hope will bring even more tourism and employment to the area. It is built on the site of the former Kyneton Party Hire business on the corner of Piper and Wedge streets and is aptly named Piper + Wedge.
“It’s the culmination of a long-term vision for Kyneton,” Graham says. “Margaret and I are excited and confident that the growing strength of the street will attract bespoke, unique retailers.”
On completion, the Emporium will relocate to bigger and brighter premises and chef Damian Sandercock will expand his famed Piper St Food Company into a much extended area.
Damian’s food store specialises in charcuterie, the ancient French art of creating terrine, sausage, rillettes, and pates. He and his wife, Bryanna, are no strangers to Kyneton, having owned award-winning Pizza Verde up until 2010. They sold the business and opened a shop front on Piper Street where they installed a purpose-built commercial kitchen from which to make and sell charcuterie to delis in Melbourne and beyond. During construction they have continued to make and sell their signature terrine and parfait delicacies from behind the new buildings at Piper + Wedge, via a door opening on to Wedge Street. Their famed cooking classes will resume later in the year in a space much bigger than the initial ‘cookery school’. An imposing five-door, white AGA cooker will take pride of place in the school. The AGA had just arrived in Australia on the day the Advertiser visited.
An excited Bryanna adds: “Once it is in and we are ready, we will hold three cooking classes per week and an AGA Sunday roast, which brings people together.”
Bryanna says she and Damian had seen a ‘resurgence of the area’ and applauded the Jaspers for “instigating interest and growth” in Kyneton.
“The area, I believe, has helped pique people’s interest in cooking - it’s quite genuine. And people are keen to buy local produce because they want quality ingredients. We aim to be as local as we can,” she says. Ingredients for produce is sourced from areas such as Glenlyon, Redesdale and the Western Plains.
Five other stores will complete the boutique retail space, Graham says. However, development was not straightforward, requiring two council planning permits across a few years, he says.
“Thankfully we are getting there,” he says.“It is a unique development as it ... has taken a building listed from a conservation point of view, added to it and made it useful again.”
Piper + Wedge is built on the site of the former Newstead Butter and Cheese Factory, which was built in 1932. The building later became a slipper factory, a service station and squash courts.
“Finally when we bought it it was the Kyneton Party Hire. We converted it into a basic industrial aesthetic shop and over the years it has become a bit of a cafe and other things. I think the current scheme treats the site sympathetically,” he says, with the renovation uncovering clerestory windows that had been hidden for decades.
Graham says the development would increase employment in the area.
“It is a boost to the economy in terms of tourism and employment for both the cafe, the Emporium and and the other shops, so it is good for the community.
“Once completed there should be a flow on effect for other businesses at the cross road of Piper and Wedge, as while we have been under construction they have reported a decline, so once we open I am hoping there will be an increase for them.
“I remember coming to Kyneton in the ’80s when you had to queue in shops for a coffee, then in the ’90s when it was extremely quiet. Now it is again full of life.”