A domino effect: Thorndon Quay businesses that relied on Bordeaux Bakery customers fear the end

Thursday, 10 October 2024

Businesses along Thorndon Quay fear more operations will shut down along the key commuter route following the closure of Bordeaux Bakery.

The bakery owner, Tony Bates, said the closure was the direct result of roadworks and a reduction in carparks along the road.

The roadworks are aimed at making Thorndon Quay better for cyclists and buses, and aren’t expected to finish until mid-2025.

It’s feared more businesses will shut down or move from major Wellington commuter road Thorndon Quay as roadworks disrupt the area.

A $45.8 million project started along the road in late 2023 and is expected to carry on into mid-2025. It is designed to make travel easier for buses and cyclists, and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles. Costs are shared between Wellington City Council and the NZ Transport Agency.

Thorndon Quay leads into the Wellington CBD from the north, and it is a hub for shops selling such things as homewares and furniture.

It has also been the location for popular Wellington baker and cafe Bordeaux Bakery over the past 30 years, but that business will be closing down 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.

The previous popularity of Bordeaux Bakery had also helped attract customers for other businesses in the area.

Kishor Chhibor from wrought iron specialists Simply Steel said many businesses, including his, had relied on Bordeaux for customers.

“This was the shopping hub for houses. Really, the people that came through here are looking for something specific,” Chhibor said.

“Bordeaux was a big attraction for that. I opened Saturdays because of Bordeaux’s customers.”

Business was now the worst it had been in the 25 to 30 years he had been in operation.

“If this is how it’s going to happen in Wellington, I see every business being impacted from here to Newtown,” Chhibor said.

“I don’t think I can stay around… Rent is very high in this area. And if I can’t bring in the income, then I’m going to have to move out.”

Tarun Vashisht from the New Zealand Bed Company said sales had dropped 90% in the past few months. “These roadworks are … the nail in the coffin.”

Roadworks were under way directly outside the store, and Vashisht said many people thought the shop was closed. “We’re just literally dead at the moment.”

He too thought Bordeaux Bakery had brought customers to the area.

Mark Turner, a Thorndon Quay landlord, said the loss of Bordeaux Bakery would be a “real dent” in what was offered along the road.

“It’s an institution and they do a great job down here and through no fault of their own, they have to close,” Turner said.

“I think it’s just the beginning of a number of closures down here,” Turner said. Many businesses were located along Thorndon Quay because of the carparking available, but that was being reduced.

Gar-fare Cafe owner Brendan Carter said the roadworks meant a loss of carparks outside the cafe for six months, and probably had an impact of about 40% on business.

“Luckily things have bounced back a little bit, but of course we don’t have the carparks that we did have,” Carter said.

“Luckily it’s just my wife and I, so we don’t have huge wage costs, or huge rent, being a smaller place.”

Paul Robinson, chairperson of the Thorndon Quay Collective group, was certain the roadworks were “absolutely identifiable” as the reason for the closure of Bordeaux Bakery.

“He was trading profitably up until the day the orange cones went up,” Robinson said.

Robinson was not optimistic the area would attract large numbers of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users when the project was finished.

He thought the main economic damage would happen when businesses moved out of the area, which would lead to a fall in property values.

Councillor Tim Brown, chairperson of the Wellington City Council Environment and Infrastructure Committee, said the main thing the council could do for businesses on Thorndon Quay was to finish the work as quickly as possible.

“When the original plan was developed there was an expectation it would be positive for businesses because it was going to improve the overall access to that area of the city and there would be more traffic going through that area and more ability for people to access businesses,” Brown said.

When the project was finished, an appraisal would be carried out to make sure the impact of the work was minimised. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any impact, because the way the road was used was being changed.

Councillor Iona Pannett said the council was having to balance long term needs for bus and cycleway access to the central city from the north and the west.

“The costs of not shifting to a low carbon transport system are very high,” she also said.

She acknowledged roadworks could make businesses uninviting to visit.

“But there are other headwinds hitting everyone.” Those included rising costs of rates and insurance, and rising unemployment, Pannett said.

If it was possible to speed up the project she would support that. “The most important thing to do is to finish it.”

She thought that once the project was finished the changes would be helpful for businesses in the area. “This is a well known part of the city to go to for homeware and furniture. That should stay,” Pannett said.

“It will be a shift for people having to have a different form of transport.” There wouldn’t be as much parking, but inner city residents could walk or cycle to the area.

She caught buses up to five times a week to Thorndon Quay, sometimes with family members.

The closure of Bordeaux was “sad and upsetting,” Pannett said. “I’m a regular customer there, and they do amazing food.”

Councillor Diane Calvert said Thorndon Quay was a case study that showed why the council needed a reset.

It should have engaged businesses along the street from the start and produced something that would have worked for everyone.

Instead, it ended up with an “over-engineered, gold plated design”, that didn’t ask “what is this place to Wellington”.

“This is a destination shopping area and they failed to factor that in,” Calvert said.

“Thorndon Quay is quite a long stretch. It doesn’t rely on foot traffic.”

The project emphasised its role as a commuter route, so whatever mode people were using - bus, car or bike - they would be using it to travel through to the CBD.

Despite the issues with the Thorndon Quay project, and the feedback about it, the council had not been agile enough to adjust its plans or its thinking, Calvert said.

She thought dissatisfaction with the council would result in a higher voter turnout at the local body elections in October 2025.

She had been a councillor for eight year, and had never seen as many emails as she was now from Wellington residents questioning what the council was doing, and concerned about the rates increase.

“When they got that rates bill, they saw what it meant to them in this current economic environment. They asked what are they getting extra for this money. They aren’t seeing improved services.”

Councillor Ray Chung said the council had failed to listen to businesses along Thorndon Quay.

“We aren’t business-friendly,” he said.

The area had needed some rejuvenation, but the project as it was now didn’t make any sense. He caught the bus into town most days and travelled along Thorndon Quay, and hadn’t encountered delays before the roadworks started.