The man behind The Gate opens up about the business and the secrets to their success.

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It’s like a backstage pass into the real person behind the success. What makes them tick, what makes them successful. A peek at some of Central Otago’s smartest and most interesting people.

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General manager of The Gate in Cromwell Glen Christiansen, says The Gate’s success is largely down to people and community.

“The Gate was originally built in 1987 by DB Breweries, as part of the Think Big dam project.

“Thirty rooms were planned, and mayor at the time, Peter Mead, held them to that, hence we’ve now got this amazing complex.”

The complex was subsequently bought by a group of five locals in about 1994, who built the conference room and added another 17 rooms. That group still owns The Gate today.

“In 2005 they employed me to manage the property.”

“I was very fortunate to have local directors who are very passionate about Cromwell.”

“Right from the beginning, they’ve empowered me to make decisions based on what would benefit Cromwell, as well as the business.”

“Over the years, they’ve also asked me to use my time within the community.”

“I sat on the Community Board for two terms, they allowed me to do that; I’ve sat on the National board for Hospitality NZ, they allowed me to do that; I’ve been on the rugby club committee, I was the inaugural chair for the Relay for Life.”

Glen said the directors had always supported a high level of sponsorship right across the community.

“Even now, in these tough economic times, we’ve had discussions about our levels of sponsorship, for example in the schools, and they didn’t even hesitate to say yes.”

Glen said in 2014, they took a good look at where the company was going alongside where Cromwell was going.

“It was about the same time as the Council workshops on the town centre upgrades and we were very mindful we wanted to be part of that process.

“We felt the town centre starts at The Gate, flows right through to the far side around Hunting & Fishing and Nichols, around to Waenga Drive and the playground and Police station area.”

Glen said by looking to the future and at the way Cromwell was developing, they decided the best direction for them was to upgrade their standard and their style.

“In 2016, we created Forage café and the Five Stags bar and restaurant.”

They also upgraded the accommodation.

“What that did was allow our external marketing, which is our property, to then come in line with our internal marketing, which is our staff.”

Glen said a key to ongoing success was the culture they developed within the team.

“We acknowledge birthdays, we have staff dinners and invite family as well, because family is important to us.

Glen said they had quite a diverse team, in both age and in cultures. They also have a lot of staff who have been there a long time and are instantly recognised - he is often referred to as ‘Glen from The Gate’.

“That all makes it a very enjoyable place to work.

“And I think when you come into the Five Stags in the evenings, you can sense that; there’s a fun and vibrant atmosphere.

“There’s a very diverse range of people in the team and they all get on very well.” 

“In other parts of the business we have mums who work a 9:05 to 2:55 time slot.”

“We’re also very fortunate to have kitchen staff who are passionate about our style of food, because it’s important that we know what we are, and we are what we are.”

“We meet the needs of locals and our ‘corporate’ clients wear hi-viz and work boots.

“So, we need to have that family feel.”

“We also encourage people to give us feedback - if you like something, tell us, if you don’t like your meal or an aspect of our service, tell us.”

“We’re all here to do our best.”

“We want you to support us so we can support the local community.”

Glen says engaged staff, empowered to make decisions is something that works well and is a big part of the reason for their success. Alongside, he says, their deep connections with the community.

“We’re in behind the golf club, the speedway, the rugby club, the bowls club, we’re at the hockey turf, we’re at the soccer club, the equestrian centre, we’re in the schools.

“We also enjoy supporting people that are going through different crises, and we quite often have space for community meetings.”

Community focus, a diverse team that reflects both the local community and those that use The Gate, high engagement within the team and ‘iconic’ staff who are instantly recognised because they’ve been there a long time. Glen reckons these are the keys to their success.

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