Cafe De Molen is the cafe at De Molen, Foxton's full-size replica of a 17th-century Dutch flour mill — fully operational and powered by the winds that drift past Foxton. Proudly operated by the Foxton Windmill Charitable Trust, De Molen is part of the community at Te Awahou Cultural Park on Main Street, and the cafe is the natural spot to stop and refresh around a visit to the mill.
The cafe opens 7 days from 8.30am to 3.00pm, with the kitchen closing at 2.30pm. The windmill next door welcomes visitors 7 days from 9.00am to 4.00pm, with guided tours available daily, so most visits pair a look inside the working mill with a relaxed cafe stop.
Alongside the cafe sits a Dutch market where everything is lekker: De Molen's own stone ground flours — organic wholemeal, rye, triticale and maizemeal, milled on site — plus Dutch licorice, chocolate and sweets, groceries, Douwe Egberts coffee and souvenirs from wooden shoes to wooden tulips. The mill opened on 13 April 2003 after a community dream that began in 1987, and every purchase supports the trust's mission of maintaining the windmill, attracting visitors to Foxton and providing local employment.
On Main Street in Foxton, a full-size Dutch windmill turns in the breeze. De Molen is a replica of a traditional 17th-century flour mill, built to plans and specifications obtained from the Netherlands, and it is fully operational — powered by the winds that drift past Foxton. Beside it sits Cafe De Molen, open 7 days from 8.30am to 3.00pm: a spot to stop and refresh whether you have come to see the mill or are passing through town.
The pairing makes sense the moment you hear the story. The flat land, green grass, surrounding water and abundance of wind that drew Dutch immigrants to Foxton are exactly what a windmill needs — the only thing missing, as the project's founders put it, was the windmill itself.
The dream took shape in 1987 between two Dutch immigrants who had settled in Foxton, Dirk van Til and Jan (John) Langen. Dirk left for Australia before plans progressed, but Jan stayed, determined to carry the dream through. Plans and specifications were obtained from the Netherlands in 1988, and the project was first proposed to council in 1990.
Support kept growing — from the Foxton Community Board, the Horowhenua District Council, foundation members, locals, and Dutch and kiwi well-wishers far and wide. One problem remained: who in New Zealand knew how to build a Dutch windmill? The answer arrived early one Saturday morning in 1997, when a qualified builder named Cor Slobbe knocked on Jan's door.
The million-dollar project was completed and officially opened on 13 April 2003 — the result, as the trust puts it, of proud Foxton men and a community that dared to dream. Today De Molen and Cafe De Molen are administered by the Foxton Windmill Charitable Trust, a not-for-profit whose mission is to fund the maintenance and upkeep of the iconic windmill, attract visitors to Foxton, and provide local employment.
De Molen is no ornament. Stone ground flour is milled on site and sold at the mill and online, in varieties including 1kg Organic Wholemeal, 1kg Rye, 2kg Triticale and 2kg Maizemeal. If you take a bag home, the website carries recipes for its ingredients — butter cake included — along with customer recipes.
The shop beside the cafe is a compact Dutch market where, in the site's words, everything is lekker. Shelves hold Venco and Star Class licorice — dubbel zout, salmiak rocks, muntendrop and more — alongside chocolate and sweets, Douwe Egberts coffee, hagelslag bread toppings, Indonesian cooking ingredients, soups, pickles, condiments and gluten free treats. Souvenirs range from wooden shoes and clog slippers to wooden tulips, crockery, figurines and Christmas ornaments, with linen and gift cards rounding things out.
Cafe De Molen opens 7 days from 8.30am to 3.00pm, and the kitchen closes at 2.30pm — worth remembering if you are timing lunch around a tour. The windmill is open 7 days from 9.00am to 4.00pm, with guided tours available daily; times and pricing are published on the mill's website. Curious what a working mill sounds like? Miller Jamie has even talked windmills with Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand, and the recording sits on the site.
You will find it all at 96 Main Street, Foxton, where De Molen is part of the community at Te Awahou Cultural Park. Come for the flour, the drop, or simply to watch the sails turn — every visit supports a charitable trust, and keeps an authentic piece of the Netherlands working on the Horowhenua coast.