Midwinter foodie fest part of the rebrand for rundown Courtenay Place
Tuesday, 25 June 2024
Business owners who are trying to change Courtenay Place’s reputation as a rowdy nightlife spot that’s deserted during the day are hoping a midwinter foodie festival will give the area a boost.
Eat Street Festival, which begins this Thursday, will have 35 restaurants and bars put forward a signature dish, drink, or combination thereof – mostly for $25 or less.
The Courtenay Precinct Revitalisation Committee, led by Lulu’s owner Jeremy Smith, is starting small with more buskers and events. But it also has big plans for a New Year’s Eve street party (with the area closed to through traffic), pushing for a bylaw to improve security and lighting up the buildings and trees along the street.
Smith, who also owns El Horno and the Cambridge Hotel, said businesses viewed the project as a fight for the area’s life.
“We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t need to. As business owners, we can’t just sit back and hope things improve. We need to take matters into our own hands.”
The eventual aim was to rebrand Courtenay Place as a lunch and dinner destination as well as a place for a night out.
Businesses could not just rely on “the midnight to 4am market” which was the most well-known feature of Courtenay Place, said Smith. Instead, they wanted to shift the street towards people having food, people coming to shows, and people listening to live music after dinner.
It remained early days but the beginning of the project, with sponsorship from the city council, Wellington NZ, Wellington Airport, Gilmours and Centreport, has been arranging buskers and street performers to bring people into the streets on the weekend.
The Eat Street Festival, timed to coincide with Matariki celebrations, was the next step to get people into the area.
Having buskers out and about had not yet brought more people into the businesses, but it had changed the dynamic on the street, Smith said.
“We're now seeing people coming out specifically to see the performers. There was the brass band on Friday night, there must have been about 100 people enjoying dancing and it was a real cross section of people, including families.”
Eric Kong’s family have been invested in the Courtenay Place area since 2007 as the owners of Dragons Restaurant .
Dragons was a success story as a yum cha restaurant that thrives in the Courtenay Place area well before the sun sets – at noon on a Monday it was filling up with tables of customers stopping in for lunch.
Nevertheless Kong says there are problems with the area, especially its reputation. “Just the vibe and love for Courtenay Place is not there any more,” he said.
Kong said the Eat Street Festival would help to “boost the morale” of the businesses around Courtenay Place.
“We just need to change the scenery, change the vibe, change people’s perspectives on what Courtenay Place is.”
Each restaurant involved will offer a special dish for the Eat Street Festival.
At Dragons, there will be a matcha-custard bun with mango cream, a pale-green twist on the traditional Hong Kong pineapple bun with butter.
Other offerings include an opera-themed cocktail from Hawthorn Lounge, seafood chowder empanadas paired with a Four Pillars gin and tonic at The Tasting Room, and some very alliterative pulled pork tacos with a pint of pilsner at Panhead.
A revitalised Courtenay Place would be vibrant after dark and during the day, said Smith.
“The key motivation for us is the perception that Courtenay Place is not quite what it was. We need to make sure the place remains vibrant and remains dynamic,” said Smith.
Smith remained supportive of council initiatives like the Pōneke Promise but said business owners were more urgently invested in the area. The question of whether people are coming into town could mean the difference between paying their staff or closing down.
What’s on at the Eat Street Festival?
The Eat Street Festival begins this Thursday, on June 27, and runs until July 6.
The full menu with special menu items from 35 different businesses is available on the website, including several drink-and-meal combos for just $25.
June 27 – Thursday
- Chinese Lion Dance Parade 7.30pm
June 28 – Friday
Wellington Red Hackle Pipes Parade 5.30pm
Chinese Lion Dance Parade 7.30pm
June 29 – Saturday
Chinese Dragon Show LED Parade 7.30pm
Sam Manzanza & the Afrobeat Band – Tripod Stage 9pm
July 5 – Friday
Batucada Street Procession 7pm
Hoot n Annies – Tripod Stage 8.30pm
July 6 – Saturday
The Side Characters – Courtenay Park Stage 7pm
Son Clave Salsa Band – Tripod Stage 8.30pm