Tocker said he and his family had experience across hospitality, finance, administration, and running their own business, but opening Cornerstone was \u201ctough, humbling, and at times, a real test of our belief in what we were trying to build\u201d. <\/p>\n
He said the family were modern thinkers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just try to create things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cornerstone Bar owner Taute Tocker. Photo \/ Bijou Johnson<\/p>\n
During the 2005 British and Irish Lions\u2019 New Zealand tour, Cornerstone built a grandstand and brought in local kapa haka groups to perform.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople started taking an interest because we were doing something different, and a lot of them would change from their regular drinking place and come to ours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how we started building.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there, the family expanded their hospitality offerings.<\/p>\n
They purchased a TAB bar, renamed it the Crate Bar, and sold it soon after.<\/p>\n
Next was Cornerstone Bethlehem \u2013 now known as The Orchard \u2013 and then they transformed Usual Suspects into Za Bar, which became Manhattan Bar and Eatery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried all these things, but we\u2019ve come back to Cornerstone as the base. Cornerstone was holding everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n
For years, Cornerstone set up marquees for the Melbourne Cup, accommodating 10 to 12 tables of about 10 people each.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a massive day,\u201d Tocker said.<\/p>\n
But times had changed, and health and safety rules prevented them from continuing the layout.<\/p>\n
Major developments to Tauranga\u2019s CBD <\/a>also affected Cornerstone\u2019s day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n Other suburbs have so much to offer, Tocker said.<\/p>\n \u201cOutgoing areas have grown. You have a bar out at Pyes Pa, in P\u0101p\u0101moa, and Otumoetai,\u201d he said, naming a few booming suburbs.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got good parking, and then people will go there.\u201d<\/p>\n Tocker said CBD parking was a massive problem for Cornerstone. <\/p>\n But the family were looking forward to having more people living in the city centre. <\/p>\n Apartments and villas in the $200 million-plus Elizabeth Towers were placed back on the market last month after being pulled in May 2025 because of \u201cchallenging market conditions, particularly off-plan, in 2024\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tocker said this was the hardest it had ever been.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make cuts all the time, and you\u2019re limited to how much you can put up the pricing of your food.\u201d<\/p>\n The Charruas playing at the Cornerstone at the Tauranga Jazz Festival 2025. Photo \/ Megan Wilson <\/p>\n