Buzz in city as precinct opens

The Radley family enjoyed the opening of the Wharf St dining precinct. Photo / Andrew Warner

The Wharf St dining precinct opened with a bang at the weekend - combining music, food and entertainment.

One of the busiest streets in the city took on an exciting new look where the focus switched from cars and traffic to a relaxed atmosphere and themed outdoor furniture.

Diners enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on Wharf St, which was closed to traffic and opened to a new vibe in the heart of Tauranga's CBD.

The weekend event was the first of the new Winter Festival which will run over the next two months.

More than 80 lanterns have been placed above the revamped street to allow outdoor dining at night.

The Radley family made the most of the day to check out the new Hairy Maclary park with children Ayla, 3 and Josh, 5 before heading over to the launch of the Winter Fest event.

"It's so cool. I think Tauranga really needs this," Mrs Radley said.

Teresa Good, who works near Wharf St, said the new dining precinct would draw more people into the town.

"From what I hear, people are keen to stay around more in town at night for something like this."

Mainstreet Tauranga Manager Sally Cooke said despite the cold, wet weather there was a good crowd at the launch.

For a first event on Wharf St, we were pretty happy with how things went."

More furniture and heritage storyboards would be added, she said.

"Plus we have got some other items of interest to go into the street so we will just keep adding them in over the next three weeks."

Downtown transformed

The Wharf St Dining Precinct is a collaborative initiative between the businesses, property owners and city centre stakeholders who saw an opportunity to transform the area to create a unique dining precinct.

Themed to complement the heritage of Wharf St, the precinct has come alive with themed seating and lighting. There are community spaces to enjoy alongside the cafes, bar and dining options on offer.