RiverTown Cafe and Restaurant was established by the Kaiapoi Baptist Church in 1988, built on a vision of creating a community space and gathering place that offers great coffee, food and exceptional customer service, with profits reinvested back into Kaiapoi and the surrounding communities.
New owners took over in August 2024 and have set out to uphold that same vision, keeping RiverTown Cafe a genuine community space for Kaiapoi. The cafe is now led by Yousef, a chef with 20 years of experience working in five-star hotels around the world, who has also worked as a head chef in New Zealand since making the country his home.
RiverTown Cafe offers both a breakfast menu and a lunch/dinner menu, serving the Kaiapoi community from morning through the afternoon.
RiverTown Cafe and Restaurant has been part of Kaiapoi since 1988, when it was established by the Kaiapoi Baptist Church. The idea behind it was straightforward: create a community space and gathering place that serves great coffee, food and exceptional customer service, with the cafe's success reinvested back into Kaiapoi and the surrounding communities.
In August 2024, new owners took over RiverTown Cafe. Rather than changing direction, they set out to uphold the cafe's original purpose — keeping it a genuine community space and gathering place for Kaiapoi.
RiverTown Cafe is now led by Yousef, a chef with 20 years of experience working in five-star hotels around the world. After deciding it was time to run his own business, he brought that experience to RiverTown. Since coming to New Zealand, Yousef has worked as head chef for a successful company, made plenty of friends along the way, and now calls New Zealand home.
RiverTown Cafe runs both a breakfast menu and a separate lunch/dinner menu, giving guests options whether they're dropping in for an early coffee or settling in for a more substantial meal later in the day.
RiverTown Cafe is open Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 3pm. It's located at 77 Williams Street, Kaiapoi, and can be reached by phone or email for enquiries.