Branching out into the food business a tough task for would-be restauranteur

As any watcher of the recent crop of restaurant-based reality TV shows knows, setting up a new restaurant is hard work. However, Tracey Collins is literally raising the bar by building a restaurant high in a tree near Warkworth, north of Auckland.

The striking pod-shaped structure, which will sit ten metres above the ground, is the focus of a new and unusual advertising campaign for Yellow™.

“My mission is to build a restaurant in a tree using only products and services from businesses listed with Yellow™ - the book, online and mobile,” says Tracey.

“To think of a treehouse brings back wonderful memories for most people – but the scary thing for me is that my treehouse needs to be a fully functioning restaurant,” she says.

And why a restaurant in a tree? Yellow Marketing Director Kellie Nathan says the TV and online campaign is designed to really put Yellow™ to the test.

“We’ve had lots of people questioning whether the treehouse is for real because it is an ad campaign. Well, I can assure people that Tracey, the tree, and the mission to build a restaurant in it are very real – they really do exist!

“This campaign is our first communication using our new Yellow™ master brand. It’s meant to be a bit quirky and is intended to demonstrate that you can get just about any job done using Yellow™ - even build a restaurant up a tree!

Ms Nathan says the campaign has generated a lot of interest on Tracey’s website with her blog receiving over 40,000 hits in the first two weeks.

Tracey was chosen to front the campaign after her flatmate suggested she answer a job ad. No stranger to restaurants, she admits to being a life-long food and wine lover and spending time as a waitress.

Tracey is also a well-known piano accordion musician, with credits including a performance with the Auckland Philharmonic and regular gigs at French and Italian restaurants in the Auckland region

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yWb3RnUX6I

Peter Eising of Pacific Environment Architects, who Tracey found through Yellow to design the restaurant, says the project has been a unique challenge.

“I haven’t designed a treehouse since my childhood, let alone built a restaurant in one,” says Mr Eising.

“The brief was ideal for an architect because it was very open in terms of where and how the treehouse should be built. We had to recommend a suitable site and design a treehouse that reflects its surroundings.”

“The restaurant’s dining room will be up in the tree, while the kitchen and other facilities will be located on the ground. Access to the treehouse will be provided by an elevated tree-top walkway (see artist’s impressions attached).

The project commenced in October and is expected to be finished in December this year.

Tracey’s progress on the project can be followed on her blog at www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz