Popular Wellington cafe Olive sold

Tuesday, 10 December 2024

Just a day after two Wellington hospo venues announced their closures, it’s understood Olive is going to close its doors.

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A Wellington cafe that once turned away former prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her then fiance Clarke Gayford has been sold.

Olive, on Cuba St, is understood to be shutting up shop, the latest in a long line of hospitality closures in the capital over the past year.

The restaurant, which has been on the market, has been sold to the team behind the Thistle Inn in Thorndon. It would reopen, but not as Olive.

The Thistle’s Richard Walshe said the new venture will be completely new, and “something exciting for Wellingtonians”.

Just yesterday Mabel’s, in Tory Street and award-winning bakery Myrtle ‒ run by hospo veterans Jacob Brown and Sarah Bullock who also own Miramar’s The Larder ‒ announced they were closing.

Olive has been a part of the capital’s food scene for close to two decades.

It is owned by head chef Jamie Morgan and brothers Ferdi and Carlo Petagna. Morgan trained under former Masterchef judge and Boulcott Street Bistro co-owner Rex Morgan, and went on to cook at multiple hatted restaurants in Australia for almost a decade before returning to New Zealand to work with the brothers.

Morgan said the time was right for Olive to bow out. Wellington was ripe for a refresh and life had changed for all three owners since they took the reins. 'It takes enormous commitment to run. We've got four extra kids between us…really I just want to focus a lot more on my family and have more time for outside interests.'

He said the staff and customers were due thanks for their support and hinted there were plans for 'a bit of a send off'.

'We've had a great 10 years, we're still enjoying ourselves, so we want to finish on a high.

Then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to wait her turn at Olive, under Covid rules.

The new owners would take over on Feb 3.

Ardern’s “snub” came during the height of Covid. The couple had turned up on a Saturday morning with a bodyguard in tow but because the cafe had already reached its limit of customers under social distancing rules, they were forced to wait before being let in.

“I have to take responsibility for this, I didn't get organised and book anywhere,” Gayfordlater admitted in a post on Twitter.

Beth Brash, programme manager of Wellington on a Plate, said the nature of leases and the fact the city was heading into the holiday period meant announcements like these were fairly standard at this time of the year.

“We had a similar spate of closures [last year]. There are exciting plans for the Olive site from an established and respected operator … while there is a lot of change at the moment, and closing a business is never easy, it's important that we remember these times create opportunity.

“From a lot of the conversations I've had recently, 2025 will bring a lot of innovation, collaboration and community across the Wellington hospitality industry.”