Mayor reacts to yet another Wellington cafe closure as city grapples with roadworks

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

A $46 million project on Wellington's Thorndon Quay is 'wreaking havoc' among local businesses, with the road said to be a nightmare to drive along.

Bordeaux Bakery is closing down its three sites in central Wellington.

Owner Tony Bates says roadworks and a reduction in carparks along Thorndon Quay were major factors in the decision.

The stores will close on Sunday, with the loss of 40 jobs.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has called the closure of Bordeaux Bakery “incredibly sad”, while pointing towards a raft of issues facing the city as possible factors in its downfall.

Bordeaux Bakery’s main store and cafe in Thorndon Quay, along with smaller sites in Featherston St and on Lambton Quay, its wholesale bakery and farmers market operations, will cease to exist on Sunday.

Owner Tony Bates said the closure was a direct result of roadworks and the removal of carparks. Turnover had dropped between 60% and 70%, he said.

Whanau said the city had been greatly impacted by public job sector cuts, an increased cost of living and remote working.

“We are a city in transition working toward a brighter future, while fast tracking work that has been under-invested in the past.

Bordeaux Bakery’s Thorndon Quay store and cafe.

“Every city goes through this, and it is always difficult, but our community can work through this.”

The local council had launched a business support initiative to try and ensure locals were supported through period of construction work, she said.

In an email reply to a disgruntled local, Councillor Diane Calvert said there were a minority of councillors, including herself, who didn’t support the changes “in the way they were designed”.

In the email, which was also sent to Stuff, she went on to say they had “frequently been calling out the lack of engagement with businesses and the overinflated costs.”

Bordeaux Bakery owner Tony Bates (right), with others concerned about changes to Thorndon Quay, in late 2021.

“The work is being funded 51% by NZTA and in part the work was requested by Greater Wellington Regional Council because they wanted bus stops moved.”

Local businesses, including Bordeaux Bakery, used their own resources to appeal the lack of consultation and ultimately won, “but by then the latest work was underway despite 110+ year water pipes not being renewed as part of the work”.

Calvert reiterated her request for the “appointment of a facilitator to assist the mayor and wider council get connected with the people and businesses it serves”.

Bates told Stuff he was writing to the council about the negative impact of its decisions on the city saying the letter would highlight “the maladministrative manner of council decisions”.

“We told the staff on Monday, there were tears. It’s sad to have to tell these people that through no fault of their own they’ve lost their job.

“They honestly do become like your family, for the younger ones this is sometimes their first or second job. You act almost like a surrogate parent to provide pastoral care, provide advice,” Bates said.

Wellington City Council started roadworks along Thorndon Quay - a key commuter route into the CBD - in late-2023, designed to make travel easier for buses and cyclists, while reducing the number of carparks. The work is expected to carry on into 2025.

Wellington businesses struggling with the city centre’s lack of people are eyeing the suburbs.

Forty jobs will go with the Bordeaux Bakery closure, with staff getting the bad news on Monday.

The business had gone from being profitable in February to “near bankruptcy”, Bates said.

Bordeaux Bakery’s website said the business started with a small suburban operation, where all products were produced and sold on site.

“The bakery grew in reputation and production due to the quality of the authentic French bread, which resulted in a relocation to a larger site on Thorndon Quay in 1994.

“With increasing demand from cafes, restaurants, and other retailers wanting French style breads, the bakery was moved to an even larger and custom designed bakery at 220 Thorndon Quay.”

The closure of Bordeaux Bakery comes about a month after bakery Pandoro shut down its three sites in the capital.

In that case, Pandoro Wellington owner Tony Beazley said trade in Wellington had been “absolutely gutted” by the economic climate and mass redundancies in the public sector.

He also pointed to working from home as a factor, with cycle and bus lanes in the city also having an impact on foot traffic.