Wellington hospo bosses insist business not as bad as it seems

Monday, 19 May 2025

The co-owner of Wellington eateries Floriditas and Loretta says hospitality isn’t in dire straits and closures often come down to life changes or natural business cycles, not just economic pressure.

Many hospitality businesses have closed in Wellington recently, but industry members say the sector is not doing as badly as some think.

Retail and trades are having a tough time too, with some venue owners tired of being the poster child for a struggling city.

While public sector cuts have made for a challenging environment, many establishments are showing no sign of slowing down.

Some Wellington restaurateurs say the capital’s hospitality sector is not in the dire state some are making it out to be.

There is no denying they are doing it tough - and there have been a number of closures.

But business owners say it’s not all doom and gloom - and some are tired of being the poster child for a struggling capital city.

“It is hard for us to be used as some kind of talisman for how good the city feels,” said Sean Golding, owner of bar Golding’s Free Dive.

“Retail, service industries, trades - along with hospitality - are in it together whether it’s good or bad. A broader narrative would… make us feel like we are not just the spokespeople for the city.”

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Hayden McMillan, who co-owns two locally iconic restaurants - Floriditas and Loretta - agreed, even if he understands why it is.

Hayden McMillan co-owns Floriditas and Loretta, two long-standing Cuba Street restaurants.

“We are public-facing businesses… People know us. They've had breakfast here. They may have had dinner here,” he said.

“But, you know, I have friends who are builders and plumbers - and those sectors feel way more hard hit than the hospitality one.”

Steve Armitage, chief executive of Hospitality NZ, pointed to Statistics NZ’s business count index, which actually showed an uptick in accommodation and food services around the country in March.

The number of these businesses was up 3% on March last year and 12% up on March 2020.

“Wellington’s hospitality sector has faced its share of challenges in recent years, but the reality is more nuanced than some recent reports suggest,” Armitage said.

“Some operators have made the difficult decision to close their doors, but these decisions are not solely about economic conditions and every situation has its own context. Reinvention and re-branding is also not [un]common within hospitality in response to changing trends and consumer preferences.”

The Ram is one of several central Wellington businesses that appear to be thriving.

Victoria McDowall, who owns Cuba Street businesses The Ram and Fred’s Sandwiches, agreed.

“Things ebb and flow and trends change. Businesses have closed, but there is regeneration as well,” she said.

“I think the trend is going from fine dining to more casual dining, and we are seeing a shift in the type of venues that are succeeding at the moment.”

Several Wellington restaurants - including Floriditas - have survived for decades, and are still standing.

McMillan acknowledged that cuts to the public sector have had an impact and times are tough for businesses in Wellington. But he insisted it is not just hospitality businesses and not every closure can be attributed to an industry in trouble.

“There have been closures in Wellington, including of long-standing establishments… But they all have their own little stories that are not necessarily linked to the state of the sector.”

According to Beth Brash, festival director for Wellington on a Plate, the average lifespan of a restaurant is just two years.

“Despite that, in Wellington we have businesses that have been here for decades and they’re still going… Logan Brown, 30 years. Boulcott Street Bistro, 30 years. Floriditas, 20 years,” she said, pointing out that some recent closures - including Myrtle and Ekim Burgers, were due to individual circumstances like leasing issues.

None pulled any punches when it came to the media.

“I would say that Stuff and The Post have had a big part to play in the negative tone when it comes to the city, and the outcome is that no one comes out because they are constantly being told that the city is miserable,” Golding said.

McDowall said what she considered to be negative reporting has made it challenging to retain staff.

“Ninety-nine percent of the staff that have left us have left because they're leaving the city, not because they're leaving our businesses. Why would you want to live in a city when everyone's telling you that it is dying?”

“We need to stay positive and get the optimism flowing a bit more, to make Wellingtonians fall in love with Wellington again,” she added.

An earlier version of this story suggested data supplied by Hospitality NZ related to Wellington only. The data provided was at a national level. (Amended 11.39am, 19/05/2025)