Bar closes doors after 'massive impact' from Terrace opening

Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Popular central Christchurch bar Baretta has closed down after struggling to compete with bars on the Terrace, the owner says.

Gregor Ferguson, who owned the St Asaph St bar, said it had been 'very hard' to turn a profit in the past year.

'It's been a tough year for us here at Baretta, the downturn in business with [the Terrace] opening and everybody wanting to go to the new shiny places.'

Baretta owner Gregor Ferguson said it has been 'very hard' to turn a profit in the past year.

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The Baretta bar in St Asaph St opened in 2013 as one of the first central city bars since the 2011 earthquake.

Ferguson said he didn't expect the Terrace, which opened in 2018, to have such a large effect.

Instead, it has had a 'a massive impact', he said, adding Baretta was 'collateral damage' from its popularity.

'There's only so many people to go so far,' he said.

However, Ferguson said the developer and landlord behind the Terrace, Antony Gough, had done a 'fantastic job'.

Ferguson informed staff of his decision to close Baretta at a meeting on Monday. All staff would be paid, he said.

Canterbury branch president of Hospitality New Zealand Peter Morrison says Baretta was a 'very good bar' that was 'well run'.

He described it as a 'sad day for everyone involved' and 'bloody heartbreaking'.

Some staff had worked at the bar for 'several years' and they took the news quite hard, Ferguson said.

There was 'a family atmosphere' in the business, he said.

The man behind the $140 million Terrace, Antony Gough, said his riverfront development had 'probably taken the dominant position' in the city's hospitality market. The complex replaced Gough's pre-quake restaurant and bar area known as the Strip.

'St Asaph St is on its way out I do feel, just like Victoria St as well,' he said.

Gough thought the council's decision to put a cycleway down St Asaph St and remove car parks had also 'killed' the street's businesses.

Canterbury branch president for Hospitality New Zealand, Peter Morrison, said he felt 'sad' about Baretta closing.

'It's just what's happening in the city at the moment with a change of areas where people are going to,' he said

'There's still not enough attractions here to warrant the number of bars and things we've got,' he added.

Morrison said people were now heading to the new places, such as the Riverside Markets and the Terrace.

He described Baretta as 'very good bar' and 'well run', and wished the owner all the best.

Gregor Ferguson said Baretta had been financially supported and marketed for the past year.

'We really hoped we could get a buyer or turn it round, but it is a big business and we haven't been able to find anybody that was keen to take on such a big business,' he said.

Baretta opened in 2013 and was one of the first bars to reopen in Christchurch's city centre following the 2011 earthquake.

Ferguson was also previously involved with two other St Asaph St businesses, The Cuban and Empire, but he sold both to downsize his interests in Christchurch's hospitality market, he said.