Reviving a dead hospitality spot
A veteran of the Palmerston North hospitality scene is the latest to attempt to revive a wellknown commercial black spot. For the past few years, the corner of Rangitı¯kei and Cuba streets is where restaurants have gone to die. Six different businesses in as many years have opened and closed. Some were gone within weeks. But Hamit Gultekin, the former owner of Halikarnas Turkish restaurant in Fitzherbert Ave, plans to change the corner’s reputation with his new establishment – Viva Cafe and Restaurant. Gultekin said he’d run cafes, bars and restaurants for 30 years, and learnt a thing or two about what people want from them. And when he cast his experienced eye over the Rangitı¯kei-cuba corner, he saw potential. ‘‘People say there’s something wrong with this corner, but I don’t think so. ‘‘When you’re right on the corner, nobody can miss you. And there are a lot of offices and workers nearby, and good foot traffic . . . better than Broadway even.’’ Business owners just needed to know how to best use the space, he said. Gultekin was confident he could bring his old Halikarnas regulars over to Viva to form a new customer base. ‘‘Food is everywhere. So you’ve got to do your service right, and it has to come from the heart.’’ Past tenants of the site include The Desert Rose Cafe and Restaurant and the short-lived karaoke business Rockz Bar. Retail NZ manager Greg Harford said while a good business would attract customers wherever it was, certain locations could make it more difficult to succeed. ‘‘There are areas [in any city] that are a bit more marginal for retail or restaurants, but they shift over time as the market changes.’’ An area can get a reputation as good for restaurants, because an established restaurant has proven itself profitable, so rents go up there as other restaurants try to move nearby. Harford said this pushed newer, or ‘‘lower-margin’’ restaurants, to less popular areas where it could be harder for them to draw customers away from the main dining spots. But if one establishment proved successful, businesses would follow them and the market shifts, turning death spots around. Colliers International director of sales and leasing Doug Russell said the success of a business was more about how it was run, than where it was.