Christchurch faces a battle of the bars

Friday, 7 October 2016

Flash new bars and restaurants, cool cafes, fancy food trucks, and a rise in suburban dining are all part of Christchurch's increasingly competitive hospitality scene. AMANDA CROPP reports.

Stuart Winter spent three years site-hopping around vacant CBD lots with his coffee cart until landing in Durham St just over 12 months ago.

Growing numbers of central city workers help compensate for the $300 to $500 a day of losses in coffee sales caused by long-running road works on his front doorstep.

But with a rash of new hospitality spaces advertised in new office buildings down the street, competition will only increase. 

**READ MORE:

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* Growing Christchurch hospitality empires post-quake

* Christchurch City Council gives rich-lister Antony Gough $300,000 energy subsidy

* The Terrace - open for business by early 2016?

* New tenant for Christchurch's Terrace development, work expected to ramp up next week

* February new date for The Terrace

* Parties make progress on stalled Terrace project

* Terrace project construction slowdown expected in Christchurch

* Westpac pulls back on commitment to Gough development

* Restaurants, bars race to reopen

* Memorabilia salvage hopes in ruins**

Winter reckons the city is getting close to 'peak hospo' and is grateful he avoided huge set up costs.

'People are spending over $1 million on restaurant or bar fit outs. They could be relying purely on what's trendy and popular, what's cool, who's going to this or that place. I've been into places midweek that are really nice, the food's fantastic, the service is great and they're empty.'

Back in the bad old days immediately post-quake, it was hard to find somewhere to eat out. Now we are are spoiled for choice.

Research from the University of Canterbury indicates the city has more than 1000 hospitality premises, surpassing the number pre-earthquakes.

Project supervisor and associate professor Sussie​ Morrish​ is keen to keep tracking hospitality changes and it's fair to say the industry has mixed feelings about what's ahead. 

Seasonally adjusted figures for the June quarter showed hospitality (accommodation and food services) contributed $277m to the Christchurch economy. 

Whether businesses can prosper instead of simply fighting for a diminishing share in an increasingly crowded market remains to be seen.

Michael Turner relocated Cafe Valentino to St Asaph St after his Colombo St premises were demolished. 

After some initial doubts, he is feeling chipper following the announcement of a new Hoyts cinema complex 250 metres away and the opening up of Sugar Loaf Lane, which will connect St Asaph and Tuam streets, bringing trade from the nearby justice precinct. 

But he admits the new hospitality landscape has its challenges, not least from the rise in suburban dining places such as the 'conglomeration' of restaurants at the  end of Cranford St. 

'The car parks are full most nights. These people don't need to come into town.'

THE RISE OF FOOD TRUCKS

Food trucks are another issue with permanent food premises who bemoan the unfairness of trying to compete with their lower overheads.

The Christchurch City Council says the 125 mobile operators on its books – everything from icecream vendors to full food service trucks – are inspected annually and must meet the same standards as regular fixed food outlets. 

However, registrations are transferable between different local authorities, and the council does not know how many in total are working the city. 

Until recently Jess Lynch managed the Friday night food trucks in Cathedral Square and she says they too are adapting to a changing market.

'The competition is hotting up and people are having to start to do really good food to compete with the new restaurants and cafes popping up on every corner.'

Lynch, who is selling her Mamacita's​ food truck to open a diner at Carlton Corner, says a lot of home cooks got into food trucks to make some money, but they were now attracting more hospitality professionals. 

'Young chefs and people who are really passionate about food are finding it's a good way to show case their work and have complete control over it, which you may not do in a restaurant.'

The trend now is away from selling chips, burgers and hot dogs to offering higher quality food. 

'No-one wants to spend money on something that's not  good and special and interesting'. 

As vacant lots fill up, Lynch says savvy food truckies will look further afield, heading to a race meeting in Timaru or the Steam Punk Festival in Oamaru. 'It's a really viable business for a long time.'

SURVIVING THE COMPETITION

Turner does not believe the failure rate of hospitality businesses has risen. 'A lot of people managed to sell out for a reduced rate prior to going broke.'

But he says there are many in the industry complaining bitterly about low turnover.

Staff costs, rents, and insurance have all risen and Turner suggests menus are reflecting the squeeze on margins with an increase in the amount of pe-prepared food that can be tossed into a deep fryer. 

'I went to a bar that prides itself on the quality of its food and out of 17 items on the menu, 11 were deep-fried.'

Hospitality rents range from $300 per square metre right up to $800 per sqm for some spots in Antony Gough's The Terrace development. 

Several leasing agents confirmed landlords would need to look at sweeteners to fill vacant spaces, either rent concessions or a contribution towards fitting out the premises. 

FLASH FITTINGS

Design manager Alan Cowie does a lot of hospitality work and says clients learn very quickly that skimping on the fit out budget is a bad move. 

'You need to end result to be a complete package or you will crash and burn. The competition will get your patrons if your experience is not up to theirs.'

At The Terrace, fit out costs can run to between $1m and $2m.

In an unusual move for Christchurch, tenants will have to shell out for their front windows as well as other normal fittings, and Gough says that's because his former tenants along The Strip inevitably replaced their frontages.

He is after a well heeled clientele – 'there's a place for the grunge market, we are not it' – so he is vetting tenants' plans to ensure they meet his exacting standards. 

'When they produce a plan that shows hard floors, walls and hard surfaces we say 'you clearly haven't thought about acoustics.''

With a lot riding on the success of his long awaited venture, Gough has gone for tenants with an established track record and Bangalore​ Polo Club, Velvet Burger, and Base Woodfired Pizza are among the 13 signed up to date. 

He not concerned about a possible oversupply of food and beverage outlets in a CBD that is currently still pretty dead in the evenings. 

Canterbury president of Hospitality New Zealand, Peter Morrison, worries those hoping to make a quick buck will be burned.

'We need the people before we need the premises.'

Morrison and Cook'n' With Gas owner Bruce Griffiths unsuccessfully tried to persuade the tram operators to extend their summer hours to 11pm to transport patrons between the city's scattered entertainment precincts. 

Tram manager John Smith was diplomatic in his response, but it's clear the idea of combining antique trams and potentially inebriated patrons did not appeal. 

Now hopes are pinned on a possible resumption of the free shuttle bus that once plied the inner city, and Griffiths says things are looking up with the opening of the Arts Centre and more events planned for the CBD.

'If people are leaving the city after work and not hanging around, you've got to get them to stay.

'We're in a fashion industry so we have to change and we've got to adapt.'