City restaurant closes doors due to dry run

A restaurant that started life as a business run by a controversial asylum seeker shut down due to a lack of diners.

Desert Rose Cafe & Restaurant, a middle Eastern restaurant and cafe on the corner of Rangitikei and Cuba Streets in Palmerston North, shut up shop during the Christmas/new Year break.

The reasons for the closure were a mystery. A notice in the window gave clues, saying the lease was ended by the landlord. But Companies Office records show the company behind Desert Rose was placed into liquidation on Wednesday.

According to the report compiled by CS Insolvency, the restaurant ceased trading in December.

‘‘The business struggled with a lack of patronage and the ability to meet owners wages and repay the costs of setting the business up and overheads,’’ the report said.

The report estimates equipment owned by Desert Rose would fetch $15,000.

However, there were debts owed to Inland Revenue, staff, a finance company and suppliers. The liquidators estimated there would be a shortfall of $23,000.

Desert Rose started life as a food cart, run by asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui, in 2010. Salih Osman took over the truck in 2012, and turned it into the restaurant in late-2013.

At the time, Zaoui told the Manawatu Standard he fled civil war in Sudan with US$200 in his back pocket.

‘‘It’s been a long journey. It was a dream but now it’s true.’’

The Desert Rose site is being turned into a Mediterranean restaurant by Saeed Joudi.

Car hits tree

A man was taken to Palmerston North Hospital after a car crashed into a tree. Emergency services were called to Ruahine St, between Windsor St and Linmor Place, in Palmerston North after a Subaru ran into a tree at 8am on Saturday. Traffic was diverted around the scene while firefighters worked to free an injured man trapped in the car. A St John Ambulance spokesman said the man was then taken to hospital in a critical condition. Palmerston North Hospital spokesman Dennis Geddis said the man’s condition had stabilised later that afternoon.

Flight cancelled

An Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Palmerston North was cancelled on Sunday due to crew illness. Air New Zealand spokeswoman Kelly Kilgour said affected customers were put on to other flights, and no other services were impacted.

UFB coming

Otaki, Foxton and Shannon are among the towns that will receive ultra-fast broadband under phase two of the Government’s rural broadband initiative programme. Phase two will extend to an additional 151 towns and 43 suburban fringe areas located around the larger centres covered by the first phase of the programme, including Levin. It will start in 2017 and be completed between 2018 and 2024. UFB uses fibre-optic cables and can typically provide download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second and, in some areas, up to 1000 Mbps.

Applications open

Horowhenua District Council is again inviting applications for funding from the community grants schemes it administers. Applications to the Horowhenua Community Development Grant, Community Consultation Grant, Creative Communities Grant and the Shannon Community Development Grant, for round two of the 2016/2017 financial year, close on February 28. Visit the council website for more information.