The Trading Post at Laguna is becoming a must-visit food venue

Joining them is a growing stream of locals and tourists who pull off the highway below and park their cars and motorbikes nearby on the dusty stretch that was once the old Great North Road, built by convicts in the 1800s and also known as tourist road 33.

Just inside the main door to the multi-layered business, diminutive mum-of-two Rosanna Marsh anchors the coffee machine, eyes fixed firmly on the accumulating line of printed coffee orders before her.

You can take the girl out of Laguna, but you can't take Laguna out of the girl: Marsh attended the public school next door, her father ran a cattle station at the base of nearby Mt Yengo and her love of horses has kept her here, apart from a stint running cellar doors in the Hunter Valley.

The gateway to Hunter Valley Wine Country, little Laguna, population 500, is now receiving big attention from those passionate about the area and its off-the-beaten-track potential. It's only eight kilometres south of Wollombi, a larger historic village also popular with day-tripping tourists.

Marsh and her developer partner John Stanley have enlisted Cessnock-born now Sydney-based hotel advisor Andrew Taylor and renowned Hunter-based chef Joel Humphreys to up the stakes at the historic Trading Post Laguna, the social linch-pin of the surrounding country since 1835.

A self-described foodie and wine lover who previously ran cellar doors in Pokolbin, Marsh and her partner met in 2010 and bought the business in 2013, then known as Great Northern Trading Post.

"We bought it on April Fool's Day. It was falling into the ground and we thought, 'Someone has to buy it, how hard can it be?' It's been a hard slog, but it's been rewarding."

Inspired by cosy gastro food British pubs, the pair wanted to create the same community at home.

Marsh was initially the chef and front of house of the business, a charming hotchpotch of buildings with many purposes.

She and Stanley always had plans to boost the food offering and build accommodation, but it wasn't straightforward.

"It's a small block so the planning phase was tricky. Then we had COVID, floods and fires, but we always had the aim of having about 50 beds," she says. "Rather than do it ourselves we wanted to bring partners on board. We also wanted to develop a cool business model that we can pick up and take elsewhere."

After a large but careful renovation which repurposed many original features of the building, the first phase was complete near Christmas last year.

The main building houses a bar, in-house bakery and general store, known as 33 Bread + Wine, stocking everything from freshly-baked sourdough, anchovy jars, Hunter wines and frozen house-made meals to Spam, Smiths chips and chocolate, perfect for the scores of passing travellers and locals. At the front counter you can order freshly baked meals and cakes, beer on tap and coffee.

Step into the adjacent courtyard and you'll find Humphreys' latest venture, Cafe Marjorie.

The restaurant consultant and ex-head chef at perennial Newcastle East favourite Scotties, Humphreys is firmly celebrating the tradition of lunch at Cafe Marjorie, with the exception of Friday night bookings.

Humphreys, who earned his stripes working for stellar Sydney chefs Neil Perry and Damon Pignolet and a stint in London restaurant St John, is indulging a long-held desire to run a lunch venue with a seasonal, ever-changing menu.

"I love the area and the locals and a lot of things made sense to me... there are a mountain of growers and producers in the area," says Humphreys, the executive chef and part-owner of Cafe Marjorie and 33 Bread + Wine.

Lunch is his preferred meal, guided of late by the fact that he's got two young kids.

"The theatre of lunch is something I really like - you wake up knowing you are going out to lunch, and to work in a venue that celebrates that is fantastic."

Redesigning the kitchen and courtyard, Humphreys says the business partners worked hard to honour the history of the building.

"It's such an iconic venue that the last thing you want is polished concrete or white marble tops - all the material used was reclaimed from the property or nearby. The bar was made from a piece of a bridge nearby and the top of the bar was from the original floor."

The centrepiece of the small kitchen is the rotisserie oven, where Humphreys roasts chicken, duck, pork belly and more, bundling it up as a takeaway meal pack popular with locals with a few sides (cauliflower cheese, seasonal salads) and house-baked bread with cultured butter, for the price of $50.

"I wanted to create something for our local community because we are such a community hub," he says, adding that the store cafe menu has beef burgers to satisfy the motorbike riders who might blow in as early as 9am with a hunger after an overnight ride.

Paying tribute to Marsh's efforts prior, Humphreys has changed the whole direction of the place.

"I suppose my philosophy is simple done well. It's inspiring to cook with the amazing produce we have because it's easy to do little with it because it has such a story to it, you just let it do its thing."

He is sourcing from small producers including Nick Lycoss, Wombat Bottom Farms, and Newcastle Greens owner Dylan Abdoo.

Trading Post Laguna's sprawling block also includes the Laguna Providore run by Raza Hasanovic, and Laguna Luxe, a charming boutique brimming with clothing, gifts and art owned by Chantelle Roger. Nearby lies a games room and a gallery space that may, says Andrew Taylor, become a microbrewery or distillery and wellness offering.

Taylor, whose grandmother's family was a part of the area's pioneering Sweetman clan, says about $1million has already been spent by the business partners on the renovation and about $3million will be invested in the planned accommodation that will take shape on the hill behind the main business.

Designed by Andrew Burns Architecture, the boutique accommodation has been inspired by reputable lodgings including The Farm in Byron Bay, Daylesford Longhouse, and Innes Hotel in New York state.

A trained lawyer, Taylor shifted into the hotel industry, hired by the likes of Mirvac and US-backed Starwood before starting Cre8tive Property.

"[In my previous roles] I worked out that lifestyle hotels in Australia are an under-utilised category and new to the market, and by lifestyle I mean you are choosing the hotel not because of the bed and buffet but because of the ancillary experiences and what it stands for, whether it's design-led or about sustainability, but it's often about community," he says.

"People realise that a big brand experience is commoditised and they want local connections to a place and community."

Taylor knew that the Laguna accommodation has to be "authentic and organically delivered".

"Laguna is this little untapped part of the Valley, less known than Pokolbin and Broke, and it's got these really endearing qualities. Everyone talks about Wollombi and then Laguna was the road less travelled," he says.

"The Trading Post really has always been the anchor for the community and everyone who stops there recognises that our establishment is synonymous with the location and community."

Taylor says the the Trading Post had one of the earliest liquor licences in Australia - a Bullock's Licence granted in 1879 - which meant by law it remained open to provide respite and sustenance until the very last bullock driver had passed each day.

The business partners have had DA approval for buildings since 2021 but are modifying it to include a lodge building with eight king-size guest rooms with ensuites and a central bar and social space - available to one large group or separately.

A second building houses four 'super suites' with king beds, ensuites and balconies.

A third building is for staff.

"I've tried to take it to an international standard but keeping it very boutique and quite rustic - the buildings are corrugated and it's a beautiful bush-style retreat, we don't want to change any of the character," he says.

While there are AirBNBs in the area, Taylor says the beauty of Trading Post Laguna is the convenience of the cafe, restaurant and the chance to mix with the friendly locals, not to mention the stunning countryside.

With construction slated to start in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, the accommodation is expected to be available by summer in 2025, targeting family gatherings, weddings or city couples keen to escape the big smoke.

"We are almost the antithesis of Pokolbin, we are not highly commercialised, we are run by locals, we're more about hiking, treks and a local farm experience," Taylor says.

His love for the country familiar to him since childhood is palpable.

"What gets me excited is the natural beauty of this Valley, it's really untouched, we'll never be an overdeveloped part of the Valley, that's for certain.

"We are trying to utilise what is a really long history of providing something to our community but for all the passersby who visit and think, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have a bit longer here?'"