Cuisine Markets out of flavour

By ANNE GIBSON

Auckland's new Cuisine Markets in the Viaduct Harbour are on their last legs and could shut soon.

All but four of the retailers have left the markets in the AGC Building and property developer Symphony Group is considering a new use for the ground-floor area.

Dan Hakaria of Symphony said the markets had not worked and were a concept ahead of their time.

The waterfront area did not have enough people to sustain trade at markets.

It was meant to be a bustling place where shoppers could choose from an array of fresh produce, as they can in markets in places such as Melbourne, but now just four retailers are continuing to trade in the vast 1349sq m area.

The four could be moved to another area of the building and the ground floor re-leased as offices or for another retail use, Hakaria said.

"We've hung in for as long as we can but it hasn't worked. It's such a large space and we have to deal with it."

The markets opened in 2001, taking up three-quarters of the ground floor of the AGC building, a Symphony Group redevelopment on the corner of Customs St West and Market Place in the Viaduct Basin.

It was one of the two properties promoted as fully tenanted and put into last year's $25 million Paramount Property Trust float, along with Ericsson House in the Domain Centre office park.

Signs are all that remain of many retailers who have left, including The Kitchen Space, which promoted Fisher & Paykel products, Outside Cuisine, Daeng Thai food, Spice Wise, Ali Baba's Deli and Indian Spices. Amazing Crepes, Eden florists, Perryman's wines and Captain Fish are the four still trading.

David Thomas, of Atomic Coffee Roasters, said his business had an outlet at the markets for about a year, but pulled out a year ago because of a combination of problems, including a dire shortage of customers.

Atomic left around the same time as Rocket Kitchen Ponsonby and fellow food retailer Pandoro closed up.

Atomic Coffee Roasters has since opened a small shop in Shortland St, which Thomas said had been much more successful.

Paramount, which put a $36.5 million price tag on the AGC Building, said of the markets in November: "The occupancy levels of the properties is 100 per cent" and the weighted average lease term in the Viaduct building from December last year was an attractive 7.5 years.

Thomas said problems at the Cuisine Markets included lack of an anchor tenant such as a large fresh fruit and produce stall - which would have made the markets a destination - lack of carparking, poor cleaning, the state of toilets, a loose lease arrangement and fewer customers than expected.

"It's a real shame because Auckland is a big enough city to have a good cuisine market," he said, citing the nearby Seamart at the corner of Fanshawe St and Market Place.

The hope that business would pick up closer to the sailing of the America's Cup late last year failed to tempt Thomas to stay.