Common Room

Gerard Barron and his wife Jess Soutar Barron are the founding father and mother of the revolution on Heretaunga Street. When their bar and live music venue, Common Room, opened in 2013, there was little else in the Hastings CBD, which was also a little seedy after hours. But they could pick the potential. “We'd been living overseas for 17 years, and we could see the beautiful historical buildings and the opera house, but there was nothing else there. Common Room was founded on the idea that if you build it, they will come,” says Gerard. And they did come. As a result, the bar has grown from a little hole in the wall, expanding into the building next door and later adding a garden bar. There's a decent menu that features “burgers, bites and bloody good puds”, an impressive range of craft beers and live music every weekend. 227 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings. (06) 211 2446, on Facebook.