Oliver eatery mulled for Chch

One of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s restaurant brands could be coming to Christchurch in response to public demand.

A scout for Oliver’s Australian licensee, Pacific Restaurant Group, visited Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown to view potential sites for three new restaurants last week.

The company planned to open 14 Jamie’s Italian restaurants across Australia and New Zealand, with the first launched in Sydney in October.

Pacific Restaurant Group director Wes Lambert said the company was assessing Christchurch as another potential location for a restaurant after public demand.

‘‘We have received an overwhelming amount of feedback in the last few days [regarding] Christchurch, and we will be visiting Christchurch in the near future to see sites and do feasibility.’’

The company was ‘‘very excited’’ to bring Jamie’s Italian to New Zealand, ‘‘where the produce is world-renowned for its quality’’.

The restaurants aimed to be ‘‘accessible and affordable’’, the Jamie’s Italian website said.

The company’s scout, David Williams, said opening a Jamie’s Italian in Christchurch would be ‘‘very positive’’ for the city.

The company was ‘‘not intentionally ignoring Christchurch’’ last week – he simply had not had the right contacts at that time, he said.

Restaurant Association of New Zealand (RANZ) chief executive Marisa Bidois said having a Jamie’s Italian in Christchurch ‘‘would be nice’’, and could even encourage people to get excited about going to restaurants again.

Christchurch’s restaurants had been hit hard by the region’s earthquakes, with up to 30 businesses associated with RANZ having closed since the September 4, 2010, earthquake.

‘‘I have heard personal stories of people having to go out looking for other jobs while still trying to manage their businesses,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s difficult for many businesses to get insurance at the moment, and when they do it’s expensive.’’

Remaining businesses were ‘‘still fighting’’ to stay open, and some were ‘‘doing quite well’’.

‘‘I think Christchurch is still a strong hospitality market and I hope it can continue to grow,’’ she said.