Verona staff hope to save iconic Auckland café from being closed forever

Monday, 11 May 2026

Two former staff members of the Auckland café Verona see a future for the iconic business and want to buy it to save it from being gone forever.

Two weeks ago, it was revealed that the company under which the 34-year-old Karangahape Road institution traded had gone into liquidation owing over $690,000

The news came just days after a cryptic message appeared on Verona’s social media pages saying they were “closed temporarily” due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

At the time, KPMG liquidator Kristal Pihama told Stuff the grounds for the liquidation included outstanding GST, PAYE, income tax, and a small business loan.

He did say, however, that the liquidators “are actively” looking into the possibility of selling the business.

This is where Bethany Gibson and Brad Smith come in: two former staff members who have just made an offer to buy Verona to ensure it continues as a café and bar.

Speaking to Stuff on Monday, both Gibson and Smith say they put in an offer on Friday, but are already up against another offer for business.

“They've gotten back to us, basically saying that there's somebody else with a slightly higher offer with no conditions,” Gibson said. “We're trying to [still] be optimistic. That's for sure.”

She said they are now trying to negotiate with the liquidators to have their offer chosen, and are hoping that their “community capital” will sway things in favour of keeping Verona alive.

“We just love the place and love the people so much we want to keep it going,” said Smith, who had been working at Verona for about a year.

“Our bargaining chip [is] we went round and got letters and testimonials from people in the community, the creative art space, the musicians, anyone who just loves K Road and doesn't want to see it [Verona] turned into another fast food place.”

The liquidators confirmed to Stuff on Monday that they had been speaking with Smith and Gibson, but also had interest from elsewhere in Verona.

Smith and Gibson have had aspirations to buy the business for a while, having first raised the idea with the owner around eight months ago.

Despite this, both said they were still “surprised” when the closure was announced, adding that the liquidation came “completely out of the blue”.

They said they would be 'devastated' if Verona were to close forever and that they could not imagine working anywhere else.

“We just loved it so much. We had just kind of started putting on more events and really becoming more of a smaller hub for new promoters and people like that to come in,” Gibson said.

“Even just the people coming in for coffee every day. We would see regulars every day. No-one's really got anywhere else to go any more.”

Gibson said they are hoping to meet the landlord soon to stress to them the “importance of keeping Verona as Verona”.

“It means so much to so many of us. I just don't think that the road would be the same without Verona, and a lot of people agree,” she said.

Verona was one of the oldest cafés left on the infamous Auckland strip, having first opened in 1992.

Its iconic status extends to popular culture, with the New Zealand band Elemeno P naming its 2003 hit Verona after the café, and Fur Patrol filming the music video for their hit single Lydia there.