Flooding leaves Island Bay hospitality businesses counting the cost

Friday, 24 April 2026

The half a metre of water that swamped hospitality businesses in Island Bay has - literally - put a dampener on their restaurants and bars, but owners are already looking to the future after Monday’s deluge.

The suburb flooded on Monday during the wild weather that swept the capital, affecting homes and businesses and resulting one death.

Parla, a Middle Eastern restaurant on the suburb’s main promenade, won’t be able to reopen until July, co-owner Tom Parsonson says.

Good drainage around the restaurant managed to save it from even more damage, but Parsonson had measured 40cm of water coming inside the building, damaging its interior, he said.

“Judging from the lines left on the walls.”

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Luckily, the restaurant - owned by Mosaic Venues - had robust business insurance so would be okay, he said.

Although they had acted as quickly as they could, the restaurant would most likely be closed until July, Parsonson said.

With Parla’s timber flooring and panelling, it would take time to make sure everything wasn’t water damaged.

In the meantime, Parla’s coffee machine would be shifted to Wellington Sourdough, so Parla’s signature speciality coffees would be available there over weekends in the meantime, Parsonson said.

Down the road, Double Vision Brewing’s taproom, called Dub Hub, underwent similar damage, experiencing half-a-metre of flooding through its bar.

Warren Drahota said to see the venue flooded was discouraging, as he and his fellow brewers had worked hard to build and outfitted the space.

“We've got a great team and a great community behind us, so we're getting through it,” he said.

Currently, the bottom of the bar was closed off to dry. The bar’s interior was mostly wood lining, which was good as drywall held moisture.

Electricians had come in and replaced the outlets that had been submerged, so after a risk assessment, the bar was deemed safe.

The taproom had opened on Wednesday to customers for its famous weekly pub quiz, with air scrubbers and dehumidifiers to make sure there wasn’t any moisture or mould.

“We're just taking all the precautions we can,” he said.

Unfortunately the floors may have been warped by the water, he said - meaning the bar may have to close for a week in the future for repairs.

Dub Hub would remain open, he said, as a community hub for locals to come to and network and take care of the neighbourhood.

“There's some panels missing from the bar but the beer is still pouring. We're all good.”