Thomas Manch
A cafe’s resurrection is a reprieve for a community dealing with mall damage. reports.
Michael Gray is grinning as he laughs into his cellphone outside the new Buzz Cafe. ‘‘Tell Dave we will have his wine here,’’ he says.
The resurrected Buzz Cafe – a former Lower Hutt institution – is a welcome sight on the tired High Street. ‘‘This is where it used to happen . . . people remember it and they’re excited it’s coming back.’’
The excitement of the recent opening is a deserved break; it has been a stressful few weeks. Gray’s smaller Buzz Cafe is locked away in the quake-affected portion of Queensgate Shopping Centre.
About 70 Queensgate stores are closed as earthquake damage has left a portion of the building at risk of collapsing.
Buzz Cafe in the mall, which only made two months of profit since it was set it up 18 months ago, shares an entrance with the car park that will be demolished.
‘‘We’re in a little bit of a situation. We want to be in the mall . . . but there’s a cost involved to hold that position there.’’
He says they were still expected to pay rent to Queensgate. Communication has been poor at best: All he has received are some text messages from the mall’s management.
Gray has been allowed to access his cafe during a few 20-minute windows, and will struggle to retain his staff.
He doesn’t know when the business can return.
‘‘The quake has changed lives of people around the country,’’ Gray says. ‘‘It’s been pretty tough.’’
But disaster brings opportunity for some. There’s hope the disruption could signal the revival of High St – which languished after Queensgate opened.
Down the road, Paper Plus has seen an increase in foot traffic since the quake. Owner John Vallely says that with plenty of retailers outside the mall, ‘‘there’s no need to leave town’’.
On the adjacent Margaret St, Empire Skate owner Matt Wells is less assured.
High St is ‘‘done and dusted’’ unless the council puts some money into it, he says.
Retailers in Queensgate say last week had been quiet, but things were starting to pick up.
Real estate agent John Persico has fielded calls from about 10 Queensgate businesses asking about vacant space on High St.
But without a clear idea of how long businesses will be shut out, it isn’t looking viable.
‘‘National retailers – most of them are happy to just sit on their hands and just go back in [to Queensgate]’’, he says.
Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mark Futter says the Hutt City Council, the Government and the chamber are working hard to provide solutions, but it is difficult.
‘‘The public are demanding [the] council do this, and people do that. We can smell the coffee; it’s not as easy as that,’’ Futter says.
‘‘You’re talking about small businesses here; they’re not companies that have got warehouses full of stuff everywhere else.’’
Moving to a new property requires expensive, timeconsuming fitouts, and there are insurance stand-down periods to contend with.
‘‘Everything is being done to help these people get back on their feet as soon and as fast as practically possible.’’
Over the past fortnight or so retail spending is down about 6 per cent in Lower Hutt.
‘‘Unfortunately, during the runin to Christmas, it’s probably going to affect the economy here a little bit. It definitely won’t be a normal trading period, which is a shame,’’ Futter says.
The Hutt City Council’s CBD development manager, Cyndi Christensen, says businesses are ‘‘hovering’’ until there is greater certainty. She has been working with businesses to ensure the community knows the Lower Hutt CBD is still vibrant.
‘‘Lower Hutt, as a whole, is still open for business.’’