An owner of two restaurants on The Strand experienced cancelled reservations because customers couldn't find parking nearby. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell
City centre changes have left Tauranga hospitality businesses reeling, with owners citing drops in sales, vanishing foot traffic and growing frustration with council actions.
Restaurant and bar owners along The Strand said council decisions “amplified the disaster” and business was the “worst ever”.
The Bay of Plenty Times reported last week the owner of long-standing business Lone Star was going into liquidation, citing difficult trading conditions. The restaurant was expected to stay open, with a new owner in the wings.
Cornerstone Pub opened in 2004, and owner Taute Tocker told the Bay of Plenty Times this year had been the “worst ever”.
“Businesses are going under left, right and centre at the moment.”
Tocker said foot traffic was “non-existent”. Cornerstone Pub used to turn over $800 to $1000 during a lunch run, but now would not even do $200.
“It’s really bad, we might have a fine day and get a few more people, but other days, you can count them [customers] on your hands.”
He blamed the recent paid and timed parking changes for the loss of customers.
“Customers come in here for lunch, and then they’ve got to quickly bugger off, so they don’t get a fine of $40 or $70, then they’ll never come back.
“This is my money, my business, my livelihood, my retirement.”
Tocker said even if he was 100% against parking changes, when speaking with the council, “it doesn’t matter”.
“They still go their own way, that’s the biggest problem.”
Another restaurateur, who would not be named, said the lack of messaging from the council was one of the “largest pain points”.
She believed a lack of consideration for CBD operators had “amplified the disaster”.
She told the Bay of Plenty Times that of the two restaurants she runs, one was down over 50% in sales and the other 40%, with reservations being cancelled frequently.
“I see and hear people calling us up most weekends saying, ‘sorry, I’m going to be late, I’m trying to find a park’, or ‘sorry, I can’t make it, I can’t find a park, so I decided to go home’.”
She said changes could “absolutely” be made immediately and suggested angled parks along Willow St instead of parallel parks.
“That would squeeze so many more car parks in and make a world of difference. We’re not asking to spend a million dollars to do this; it’s just a paint job on the road.”
An owner of Macau Bar Kitchen & Lounge, Craig Cameron, said there should be compromises made to have an even playing field for all.
“People don’t pay for parking in Mount Maunganui. Why do we pay here?
“[The CBD] looks like a ghost town, and soon, The Strand is going to be the same.”
He said not only was parking impacting foot traffic, but his staff were also paying $20 per day to park.
“If you want to attract good staff, and they’re paying potentially $100 a week in parking, you’re not going to keep them, or you have to pay them more.”
About 25 CBD businesses attended a Downtown Tauranga meeting last month to discuss concerns about parking changes.
Hospitality NZ said Tauranga’s city centre was under strain and decisions being made left businesses in limbo and customers were staying away.
Acting chief executive Nick Keene said this was a result of Tauranga City Council’s execution of city centre upgrades.
“Removing carparks and moving access points, resulting in the loss of business for venues as customers struggle to find nearby parking, [and] visiting becomes less desirable.”
Keene said city centre upgrades in Tauranga had a flow-on effect for business buoyancy.
“While most will be up for some short-term pain and long-term gain, little to no support offered at all leaves operators in the CBD struggling until any gain can be realised.”
Tauranga City Council’s general manager of strategy, partnerships and growth, Christine Jones, said keeping businesses informed and involved was a priority.
“Our city centre engagement team maintains regular contact with operators through monthly site visits, business forums, email updates, and one-on-one interactions.”
On parking, general manager of operations and infrastructure (waters and transport), Nic Johansson, said parking was an area the heard ”particularly strong feedback" about.
“We understand the concerns being raised.”
He said paid parking had been in place in the city centre for over 25 years, with a two-year period where free parking was trialled.
“During the free-parking trial, our monitoring showed that most spaces were being taken up by city centre workers rather than shoppers or diners.”
He said this worked against supporting retail and hospitality businesses and didn’t encourage turnover.
In response to ongoing feedback, a report will go to the council on September 16 to consider a range of potential short-term parking incentives.
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.