The BurgerFuel Redwoods store is located on the outskirts of Rotorua, a quick drive into the city in one direction and in the other, a hop, skip and jump away from Rotorua’s natural treasure and popular tourist destination, Redwoods Forest. Hectares of Californian Redwoods, as far as the eye can see, make up part of the Whakarewarewa State Forest and is every outdoor enthusiast’s dream, with a network of mountain biking, walking trails and breathtaking beauty.
Franchisee Roddy, Eastern Bay of Plenty born and bred, is a down to earth fella, with a heart of gold. His humble nature means he is super uncomfortable with the spotlight being on him, sorry Roddy!
He took over the store in April 2019 from Francie, who shared her knowledge and bestowed a staunch passion for customer service and values that Roddy continues to model and instill today in his tight-knit crew.
Roddy’s ambition as a young man saw him self-employed before 18, developing his own horticulture business and serving in the fire service for 23 years. He started out as a volunteer fire fighter, moving to Chief, “It was incredibly rewarding and challenging at the same time”, Roddy says, “It’s where I developed a real passion and pride in serving my community”.
His journey saw him move to a corporate lifestyle, where he worked in a large multi-national company for 17 years. Here he absorbed valuable experience in systems and process, yet at the same time observed some of the downsides that come with large corporations, where the wheels can tend to turn slower when it comes to decision making and action.
The brand-fit is a natural one with Roddy having a family background and love of motorsport. Competitive by nature, he was quite the athlete back in the day, now enjoying social sports and a more casual approach to competition.
Roddy feels very connected to Rotorua and his earliest memories are of spending time there with his Grandparents, who always lived locally. “We have everything here. There’s the Blue and Green Lakes, which are just amazing in summer OR winter and we have an incredible relationship with The Redwoods and RedwodsTreewalk Rotorua. We are so lucky to be positioned so close to such a beautiful spot”. He highly recommends heading off on one of the many trails amongst the towering trees, or taking a Treewalk to get a bird’s eye view from up in the canopy. For those with a need for speed, the mountain biking trails are a must-do and of course, he suggests you finish off with a feed at BurgerFuel Redwoods and let the team look after you.
BurgerFuel Redwoods: Redwood Centre, 5 Tarawera Road, Lynmore, Rotorua | Ph: (07) 348 4860 | Sun – Thurs: 10am – 9pm | Fri – Sat: 10am – 10pm
