Northcote Point’s The Engine Room celebrates 20 years. What’s the secret to its success?
The Engine Room, a popular Auckland bistro, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Owners Natalia Schamroth and Carl Koppenhagen credit their longevity to a consistent, non-trend-chasing approach to food and service.
Why it matters
It highlights the success of independent, community-focused hospitality businesses in an era of shifting dining trends and corporate awards.
The Northcote Point favourite opened to fill a gap but went on to inspire a neighbourhood boom.
The Engine Room opened, as many restaurants do, to fill a gap.
Specifically, it was opened by Natalia Schamroth and Carl Koppenhagen to fill their own personal desire for a local bistro in Auckland like the ones they had regularly dined at when living in cities like London, Melbourne and Sydney.
It turns out, Aucklanders were crying out for exactly that too.
“Our original vision was just to have a place, like you do in Europe, where you can just have that place forever,” Schamroth says.
“We didn’t want to be on trend, we just wanted to serve food that we wanted to eat and the kind of service that we wanted to receive. And that vision has never really changed.”
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