Dominion Rd becomes struggle street
Auckland’s once bustling foodie destination has become a heartbreaking reminder of the long reach of the pandemic, as restaurants shutter or battle to survive.
The handwritten note in the window of Paasha says it all. ‘‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce the temporary closure of Pasha,’’ it reads. ‘‘Some of our staff have been exposed to Covid-19 and our small hardworking team is unable to operate.’’
The small Turkish joint is among dozens of eateries along the strip that have been wiped out by Covid-19. Many restaurants and cafes have closed their doors, with opening times posted in windows telling a very different story to the large closed signs now adorning entrances.
Traditional eateries including Tom Yum Eden, Jun’s Grill Fish and Yokoso Sushi are still only offering takeaway service – tables topped with Covid sign-in sheets a reminder that many restaurants are hesitant to welcome diners again.
Dominion Rd, once a bustling thoroughfare, now verges on feeling like a ghost town.
For decades, the popular strip – stretching through the city between central Eden Terrace and suburban Mt Roskill – has been one of the nerve centres of Auckland’s food scene.
With fare from all corners of the globe, it has stood as a shining example of Auckland’s vibrant, multicultural appeal.
But now, it represents something very different. An empty shell of its pre-Covid self, Dominion Rd has become a symbol of the wreckage that Covid-19 has wrought on the hospitality sector.
Some proprietors are holding on by the skin of their teeth.
Sungho Jeon laughs wryly as he reflects on the ‘‘really bad timing’’ of opening his restaurant A Noodle Less Ordinary in early 2020, shortly before the pandemic’s arrival in Aotearoa.
He says business has been hard – ‘‘very, very hard’’ – and was especially so at the beginning, when he was unable to rely on loyal, regular customers to keep afloat.
‘‘We had to start from scratch with nobody knowing who we were, and it was really difficult to get customers in.’’
Jeon has watched for two years as numerous businesses have fallen around him, including a bakery and cafe directly opposite.
He’s soldiering on because there is no alternative.
‘‘I’ve got a family to look after,’’ he says. ‘‘There is a lot of pressure on me at the moment. I’m devastated, but you just have to keep going.’’
Paul Wong also suffered the unforeseeable bad timing of opening a restaurant shortly before the country’s first lockdown.
The Chinese BBQ skewer bar, Mr Hao, located closer to the Eden Park end of the strip, did well in its first few weeks of business in March 2020.
But as cases of Covid-19 began to climb, business ‘‘dropped off a cliff’’ – especially from those within the Chinese community.
‘‘Our business attracts a lot of Chinese customers due to the food being authentic,’’ Wong says, ‘‘and it’s these customers who, within days of outbreaks, tend to drop off quite dramatically and stay away for long periods of time afterwards.’’
Wong says the drop in Asian custom pushed him to create a more balanced offering to cater to Chinese locals and Westerners alike; an innovation that’s proved a silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.
New Flavour owner Lin Ma, who’s operated on Dominion Rd for 10 years, agrees that diversity is key to survival. More traditional Asian restaurants that cater purely to the Chinese market are ‘‘almost dead now’’, he says.
Still, business has been a struggle. Ma and wife Cathy took over New Flavour in June 2021, and while those first two months saw the restaurant thrive – ‘‘always full, even at 2am’’ – things deteriorated rapidly in August, when Auckland’s second lockdown took hold.
‘‘There were no sales at all for a month and a half,’’ Ma says.
The introduction of takeaways in September took them back to 30 per cent of pre-Covid sales. Now, they’re back up around 70 to 80 per cent.
Wong grieves for the restaurants that went under, and remembers much sunnier times on Dominion Rd.
‘‘There were buzzing lines out the door with people waiting for tables,’’ he says. ‘‘It has changed so much since then, and at the moment it’s hard to find a half-full restaurant.’’
For those who have managed to stay afloat, the spectre of Omicron has loomed over daily operations.
Tasca manager Ilya Penzin says the Spanish cafe had to turn to the help of local schoolkids to get by when worker shortages started to bite.
La Vois Francais bakery owner Tetsuya Namekawa says he’s been forced to shut for days at a time, as his bakers and counter staff have fallen ill.
High-end haunt Cazador has been forced to reduce its offering, with manager and co-owner Rebecca Smidt saying it’s ‘‘not reasonable’’ to spread staff thin to cover different roles.
‘‘The whole team is stretched as we grapple with industry-wide staff shortages, and it’s exhausting trying to cover all bases,’’ Smidt says.
Offering click-and-collect is not feasible, she adds.
‘‘Quality takeaway offerings also require time and staff to put together, and establishments like Cazador are running day-by-day at the moment as staff move in and out of isolation – so it’s just not possible.’’
Yet Dominion Rd Business Association manager Gary Holmes says the strip’s hospitality future remains ‘‘strong’’, and its foodie appeal will bounce back once Covid-19 has passed.
Wong, too, is optimistic. He opened a second branch of Mr Hao in Albany just before Auckland’s lockdown in August, and will open another restaurant in the coming weeks.
‘‘Sometimes we joke about what it would be like to open a restaurant without an outbreak,’’ he laughs.
‘‘I feel for so many out there who are struggling, including us, but the only way to go is to keep battling through it.’’