Vivace operated out of Fort St, Auckland, before its liquidation and is now being revived in partnership with Hotel DeBrett. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Vivace operated out of Fort St, Auckland, before its liquidation and is now being revived in partnership with Hotel DeBrett. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Liquidated Auckland institution Vivace is reopening in a new location as part of a partnership with Hotel DeBrett.
The move comes after a tumultuous period for the city’s hospitality sector, with the industry battling customers tightening their purse strings, changing dining habits and soaring costs.
A number of high-profile establishmentsclosed their doors last year.
Vivace, on Fort St since 2018, was placed in liquidation last Christmas Eve.
The Mediterranean-style restaurant had been running for 33 years and previously had two sites on High St.
It was announced today the restaurant will reopen as Vivace Restaurant & Bar at DeBretts, once again on High St, on October 16.
“It’s a natural fit,” Hotel DeBrett manager Jess Singh said.
“Both brands have strong ties to Auckland’s heritage and hospitality. Together, we’re creating an experience that honours the past while offering something fresh and exciting for the future.”
One of Auckland hospitality’s most respected couples, restaurateurs Mandy Lusk and Eugene Gibson, said they were thrilled to bring Vivace to DeBrett.
“This is more than a move, it’s a merging of two icons to create something truly special for Auckland. Guests will find everything they’ve always loved about Vivace, now with the added charm and character of DeBretts,” they said.
Vivace at DeBretts will be open daily for breakfast, coffee, lunch, drinks, nibbles and dinner. It will also have its 1920s-inspired high tea on weekends.
Hotel DeBrett had already announced that Lusk and Gibson had taken over managing the hotel’s food and beverage options last month.
Eugene Gibson and Mandy Lusk, owners of Vivace, stand at their old site on Fort St. Photo / Michael Craig
Earlier this year, Lusk and Gibson took over management at Crown Range Lounge in Parnell. Some Vivace staff had been offered jobs there.
When Lusk spoke to the Herald upon liquidation of her business last Christmas, she said breaking the news to her staff was like splitting up a family.
“It’s the end of an era,” she said.
Lusk said the closure stemmed from a demand by Inland Revenue (IRD).
IRD had tried to liquidate the business 18 months previously but she avoided that by borrowing a “huge amount of money” to pay them.
“Just this last year and a bit we got behind again,” Lusk said at the time.
She said the business had lurched from the ongoing effects of lockdown, a flood, a quiet pre-election period and the country going into recession.
“Were it not for the IRD calling in our debt to them, we would still definitely be trying to trade … [but] we got to the point where we couldn’t pay the debt,” she said.
Lusk’s happiest memories are of families who kept returning to Vivace for birthdays, graduations and other celebrations.
“We have people who got married, they had first dates, blind dates, they come in for every anniversary which is such a cool thing. And so many of our staff over the years who, by a chance shift or two, have married some of these people and had Vivace babies.
“It has really been a family restaurant, not just for us, but our customers,” she said.
Lusk has talked openly about the financial difficulties facing the hospitality sector since Covid-19 in 2020.
She said she expected there would be more businesses “following us”.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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