Sad news for custard square lovers - the company behind the iconic South Island treat, Denheath, has closed its doors.
Denheath Corporation was officially placed into liquidation on August 21, which basically means the business is shutting down and its money and assets are being sorted out. The Official Assignee is now managing the process.
For nearly three decades, the Timaru-based dessert shop has been creating what many reckon are the best custard squares in the country. Denheath treats even made their way overseas to Japan, Korea, and even Costco stores in Australia.
You might remember their viral 2kg donut version of the famous custard square that dropped last year.
The company’s directors, Donald and Lisa Templeton (the daughter of Denheath founder Carol Rutland), were majority shareholders, holding 71.49% of the company, alongside Brian Kenton (12.5%), and eight other shareholders.
According to Stuff, on March 5 the executors of Kenton’s estate filed an application in the High Court at Timaru to put the company into liquidation.
Denheath’s doors have since closed, the website is offline, and its social media pages are no longer active.
Fans on NZ Reddit were gutted, with one posting: “Can this year get any worse?”
Another shared: “Damn, they were a good time - always used to get one at the Station Café in Timaru when travelling on the Intercity 😪.”
A third added: “That’s so sad. I remember there only being a few for sale every day so you had to get in quick before they sold out.”
The Templetons had already attempted to sell the business back in 2023. At the time, Lisa told 1News: “We’ve had a bit of a mission that Mum put us on, and we’ve completed the mission now."
"We were lucky because Mum told us her dream with the custard squares - she wanted them to be national and international... she wanted them to be a household name.”
The silver lining among it all, is that the Templetons have done Rutland proud.
It's just a real shame that it's goodbye for now and a sad end to such a sweet chapter.
