Auckland restaurant closes after 35 years, blames rent and CRL construction
Monday, 10 February 2025
An Auckland restaurant is closing its doors after 35 years, blaming the construction of the City Rail Link.
Cafe Midnight Express had been operating on Victoria Street West since 1989, but has now shut up shop, saying business was “no longer viable”.
Construction on the CRL has been going on for nearly a decade, with the opening set for 2026.
Auckland restaurant Cafe Midnight Express has announced it is closing its doors after 35 years, blaming the decision on the construction of the City Rail Link (CRL).
In a message posted on the restaurant’s door, the Turkish eatery said the business was “no longer viable” due to rent increases and continued roadworks.
The message went on to say “another business destroyed by CRL,” the construction of which began in 2016.
Cafe Midnight Express first opened in 1989 and specialised in Mediterranean and Turkish cuisine.
The Victoria Street West restaurant sat directly opposite the construction site of the new Te Waihorotiu station.
The entrance of the 300 metre-long station backs onto the street and is being primed as the catalyst to help regenerate the Midtown area of the CBD.
Construction of the CRL has impacted businesses in the area over the last nine years, so much so that in 2021, a hardship fund of $12m was set up for those affected by the disruption.
At the time, then Auckland mayor Phil Goff said the fund was needed to alleviate “genuine hardship” to businesses.
In 2024, Shobhana Ranchhodji, who owns the nearby Roma Blooms Florist on the corner of Albert and Victoria Street West, told Stuff she never envisaged the CRL construction would be so disruptive.
“For the last eight years it’s been your worst nightmare,” Ranchhodji said.
“We had no idea of what to expect and no one giving us [information] of what it would be like to do business in this area,” she said. “We were left on a construction site to do business as usual.”
Cafe Midnight Express’s closure comes at a time when company liquidations are at a 10-year high, with the latest figures showing that 2500 companies went into liquidation in 2024, 700 more than in 2023.
Last year also saw many eateries and bars announce closures, with the financial pressures of inflation biting hard across the country.
Speaking to Stuff, Chief Executive of City Rail Link Ltd, Patrick Brockie, acknowledged that construction of the project had not been without its impacts on neighbouring businesses.
“Since the start of construction there has been significant engagement with affected businesses and residents to minimise impacts of the construction and help businesses adapt,” Brockie said.
He added that City Rail Link Ltd has helped businesses maintain customer access, offered financial support and expert business advice, while a number of events and activations have been held to attract people to the area.
The above-ground works around Te Waihorotiu Station are now largely complete and the station is mostly built.
When finally complete, the Te Waihorotiu station will have the capacity to handle 54,000 passengers per hour, making it New Zealand’s busiest train station.
The surrounding area of Midtown is being developed for the station’s anticipated completion in November 2025.
Wider footpaths, new streetscapes, and new bus infrastructure are already beginning to take shape around both the Wellesley and Victoria streets.
Home to 36,000 people and with 146,000 people working in the area, city leaders are expecting thousands more people to come into the city centre as a result of the station in the form of new businesses, residents, and shoppers.
The CRL is the largest infrastructure project in New Zealand and is expected to open in 2026.
The owners of Cafe Midnight Express have been approached for comment.