When times were good people spent the "disposable dollars''.
''When times are good, and people have enough money to pay their bills they are comfortable enough to go out and enjoy themselves and eat in a restaurant or go to a bar or buy a takeaway.
''It comes down to consumer confidence,'' he said.
The Bottle-O Fraser Cove manager Pam Kaur said business was steady although it faced tough competition from supermarkets.
TBO Hillsdene manager Emen Singh said people were still buying wine, beer and spirits.
Trade was good, but he expected it to increase in summer.
While consumer confidence might be running high, Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Diane Bruin warned people not to overextend by accumulating too much debt.
Eating out had increased dramatically she said, and came at a high cost.
''We discourage struggling families from buying takeaways as the same amount of money spent on takeaways could feed a family of five at home with leftovers to take for lunch the next day.''
On average the service helped 1800 clients a year, and there had been a 20 per cent jump in wage earners seeking assistance due to an increased use of credit and accommodation costs.
A lot of people were getting caught out with overuse of credit facilities and hire purchase for vehicles with costs of $30,000 they couldn't afford.
''There has also been an increase of pay-day loans for trivial purchases for birthdays, toys - definitely not needs but lots of wants - and truck shops are still an issue across Tauranga where vulnerable people are drawn into unaffordable purchases.''
In the past year, the service assisted a client who had accumulated a $280,000 debt.
The debt included a car hire purchase, mortgage, credit cards, rates in arrears and many other mounting debts, she said.
''This was due to reduced household income due to ill health and has made the situation worse as the debt mounts.''
Infometrics senior economist Benje Patterson said there had been an upturn across a range of spending and investment indicators.
Tauranga's economy had grown well above the national average in the past three years, but increases in house prices had left ''housing in the city at levels where it can no longer be deemed affordable for many households''.
''As a result, house prices and building consents are now rising most sharply in other parts of Bay of Plenty where buyers are seeking out alternative options that are still within a commutable distance of employment in Tauranga."
Salvation Army Tauranga Social Services manager Davina Plummer said most of its clients were beneficiaries or those with no income and some were homeless because of rent increases.
Incomes and benefits had not kept up with the cost of living, she said, and 20 per cent of their budgeting clients at the moment are homeless or in temporary accommodation because they are unable to afford rent.
The largest debt it had dealt with was $20,000, she said.
Earlier this month the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index slipped to 125.4 in July from 127.8 in June. But its chief economist Cameron Bagrie told NZME that on a seasonally adjusted basis, confidence rose to its highest level since September 2014.
Pap Tav
Seven months after reopening, business is humming along at Papamoa Beach Tavern as families embrace the made-over business.
Pap Tav manager Sam Taylor-Hill, a former bar manager at Astrolabe in the Mount, has noticed a definite lift in Tauranga's hospitality industry.
"In the last two years, things have just gone boom."
He largely credited the good times to the influx of new families into the city, including lots moving from Auckland.
"A lot of the holiday homes in the Mount have turned into family homes and you know families, they like to go out - when they can.
"Papamoa has always been a family environment, but it's definitely growing."
Lots of new people in a community meant lots of people looking for friends, and the industry was benefiting from that process too.
Mr Taylor-Hill said he had noticed people making an effort to get out and meet like-minded locals - joining groups, attending events and arranging groups for activities such as surfing.
The tavern was tapping into that with themed functions, food nights, and group meet-ups such as the regular playgroup for parents and kids.
Those events were keeping them busy over the traditionally slow winter months.
He said tight liquor laws had seen growth of popularity of low alcohol drinks.