Wellington hospitality operator Asher Boote says restaurants need to charge more to survive

Daisy's and Hillside Kitchen owner Asher Boote in his Tinakori Rd restaurant. Photo / Mark Mitchell

• Wellington restaurant owner Asher Boote believes dining out is under-priced and believes hospitality, which should be treated as a luxury, needs a reset.
• It comes as the restaurateur today closes his Thorndon venue Daisy’s after eight years.
• Boote highlights Covid, the 2022 Parliament occupation, Government and policy changes, and road works as factors leading to the closure.

Wellington restaurateur Asher Boote has mixed emotions as he prepares to shut the doors to one of his restaurants for the final time tonight.

Daisy’s on Tinakori Rd in Thorndon is the latest in a long list of the capital’s venues to shut up shop.

Boote announced earlier this month he would not be renewing the lease, citing political and economic turmoil for the closure.

Speaking to the Herald about the decision, and his reflections on the sector’s recent woes, Boote said he feels a combination of sadness and frustration, alongside accomplishment and relief to be shutting down Daisy’s.

Daisy's and Hillside Kitchen owner Asher Boote in his Tinakori Rd restaurant. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But Boote said he doesn’t want to contribute to the ‘doom and gloom’ sentiment in the sector.

“There’s been enough complaining and blaming within the media, I think we need a more positive approach.”

Asked what caused the restaurant’s demise, Boote can rattle off a list of events which all contributed.

“You’ve only got to look at what’s been well documented in terms of the way Wellington has been since Covid,” he said.

“Things are so up and - well, down and down rather than up and down - it’s been a continuous run of different sorts of hits.”

It started with Covid and the lockdowns, Boote said, which caused a lack of tourist trade that the business relied on.

Then the Parliament occupation at the start of 2022 meant people were staying away at a time customers were needed, impacting Boote’s businesses “quite significantly”.

A bus on the normally bustling Taranaki St in Wellington, on day 1 of the Covid-19 lockdown, March 26, 2020. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The change in Government and subsequent public sector job cuts have also had an impact, with both restaurants located just a short walk away from Parliament and Government department offices.

The council, and road works in the area, have also contributed, Boote believes.

“It’s just been one thing after another.”

The public sector job cuts initially prompted an unexpected spike in business, with Boote saying they received “a significant number of bookings” for workplace farewell dinners for public servants losing their jobs.

Public sector downsizing has seen thousands lose their jobs in the capital. Photo /Mark Mitchell

And then there’s what Boote calls “an inconvenient truth” that restaurants are “severely under-priced”.

“We can’t forget that restaurants are a luxury,” he said.

“The hospitality sector has needed a reset for a long time, even before Covid. It operates on such thin margins and those margins have got even thinner. Realistically, restaurants should be at a much higher price point than what they are, obviously that will be hard for people to swallow."

That’s the approach Boote’s taken with his other restaurant on Tinakori Rd, Hillside. And he believes it’s been instrumental to its success, with Hillside turning 10 in a couple of weeks.

Hillside Kitchen in Thorndon, Wellington.

“Hillside’s not a cheap restaurant and it shouldn’t be a cheap restaurant. We focus on doing fewer customers at a higher spend, really acknowledging that dining out is a luxury, it’s a real treat.”

He said the flurry of closures is evidence the sector needs to increase its prices.

“You’ve only got to look at the calibre of restaurants that have closed over the past few years, it’s been the ‘cream’ that has been closing.

“Having other people look after you, serve you, cook for you, there is a value to that that really needs to be recognised higher I think.”

Asked how much prices need to increase, Boote said that even pre-Covid he “thought restaurants were about 30% under-priced”.

The emotional and mental toll of running a restaurant was another factor in the closure of Daisy’s, with Boote saying at the time it had “absolutely taken its toll”.

He has also previously spoken about the struggles of running a venue in a sit-down interview with the Herald, where he revealed he had considered walking away.

Hillside Kitchen owner Asher Boote said previously he'd considered walking away from his Tinakori Rd restaurant due to the mental struggle. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It’s a struggle he believes is a key driver for why many operators don’t last in the industry, saying turnover in hospitality is “shocking”, and the lifestyle often isn’t healthy in the long term.

“I do think that mental toll, which is something that hasn’t been recognised well in the past, plays a big role in that.

“It’s pretty sad when I’m talking about a 10-year-old restaurant being a veteran in the scene.

“Throughout my career it wasn’t unusual to work 100-hour weeks, you give everything to produce a great product for people and over time that product has been devalued [...] The mental burden just isn’t worth it at some points.”

Since announcing Daisy’s closure, Boote said he’s had a surge in positive messages from patrons.

He said they’ve seen more bookings in the past month than for a long time, and said while it’s heart-warming, there is a frustration that “it takes closing to fill up your seats”.

“I think that’s a message to people to get out and support the business that you want to be around in the long term,” he said.

Recent closures in the capital include cafes Bordeaux, Myrtle, Nikau and Pandoro.

Restaurants Concord, Mable’s, Olive, and the Hudson also closed, with their owners citing numerous factors.

Late last month, wine bar Plonk announced it too was shutting up shop.

Field & Green and Shepherd closed at the end of 2023.

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.