Whakatāne’s Detour Bar, Lounge and Restaurant opened earlier than usual on Monday for its first breakfast buffet.

Despite little prior advertising, the buffet attracted 20 people, who enjoyed a continental and cooked breakfast that included eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, cereal and yoghurt.

Detour owner/chef Francis Whitcombe said he decided to trial a buffet breakfast for two reasons.

No other business in town was doing a morning buffet, and it was a way of giving his staff more hours.

Usually Detour opens later in the day for lunch and dinner.

The buffet breakfast trial will continue until Friday between 7am and 10am at a cost of $25 per person.  

If successful, Mr Whitcombe will consider extending it.

He would like to see the buffet breakfast become a weekly event where office workers and tradespeople could call in and have a meal before work.

He said he was pleased with the turnout on the buffet’s opening morning considering the only advertising he did was on social media the Friday before, and was hopeful numbers would increase between now and Friday.

Photo Aston Palmer E5834-02