Sophie Gilmour and Simon Day are joined by special guest Hugo Baird, co-owner of Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones and Lilian, to talk about opening new pub Hotel Ponsonby. Auckland is a city of many bars but few really good pubs – the kind of places you’d be just as comfortable going with your parents as … Read more
Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Rachel Taulelei, CEO of Kono. First published June 4, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help … Read more
The challenges of 2020 have cemented the importance of having flexibility and adaptability top of mind when creating hospitality spaces, writes interior designer Jonathan Goss. It’s no secret that Covid-19 has shaken up the hospitality industry. From being shut down fully for lockdown, to reopening under strict safety measures, then, after a few months, those … Read more
Speculation surrounding the new Covid-19 community case in Auckland last week has cast a light on the pressure retail and hospitality workers face every day. For New Zealand, a new case of Covid-19 in the community is an alarming event in and of itself. The fact that the source of the transmission was initially a … Read more
Some of the smartest people in the country examine the effects of the pandemic on Aotearoa’s future in 400 words or fewer. Read part one here. Beyond the horrific global death toll and the economic shutdowns, there is hope that Covid-19 will allow us to build a better society in the future. While much of … Read more
Businesses in an iconic central Auckland food court continue to face threats of closure from their landlord. Now they’ve turned to the public for help. Several besieged businesses at Elliot Stables have failed to come to a resolution with their landlord, the Icon Group, which last month issued Property Law Act (PLA) notices giving the … Read more
After a year of uncertainty and disruption, the capital’s hospitality industry says Visa Wellington On a Plate will bring a much-needed boost – to spirits as well as business. For two-and-a-half weeks in August 2018, Wellingtonians Casey and Blair Wilson worked 20-hour days, taking turns to sleep in four-hour shifts. “We had no understanding of how … Read more
Two lockdowns have meant businesses in a beloved central Auckland food court have struggled to pay their rent. They’re getting no relief from their former soap star landlord. Struggling businesses in the Elliot Stables building in central Auckland have been served Property Law Act notices from their landlord, demanding that they pay the shortfall in … Read more
Whether it’s a grant or a wage subsidy, industry leaders say Auckland businesses need government support. With the mending glue barely having dried, some Auckland businesses will be cracking again under the pressure of the new level three lockdown. Now they are calling on the government to help. Finance minster Grant Robertson has already hinted … Read more
On a Saturday night on Dominion Road, Sonya Wilson discovered a dish so gastronomically monumental it can only be described as life-changing. I’ve never been someone who knows how to wax lyrical about food. I love food, more than I love fitting into my jeans, but I’ve never slung around words like provenance or piquancy, … Read more
The small team behind the much-lauded Pasture is opening a bar – and true to form, it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve seen in New Zealand before. Jean Teng got a sneak peek. You enter Boxer via a text message. Well, that’s not strictly true. If you have the foresight to book beforehand, you’ll … Read more
Auckland’s oldest restaurant, Tony’s Steakhouse has been welcoming all-comers for more than 50 years. In the wake of news it may be facing closure, long-time regular Graham Reid penned this tribute. There’s a scene that has played out hundreds of times at Tony’s restaurant on Wellesley Street in central Auckland. I’ve witnessed it frequently. A … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive. On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and we’re joined by our … Read more
A new mall in downtown Auckland prizes food over shopping and public transport over private. Duncan Greive digests it all. Next year St Lukes, the venerable icon mall of Auckland’s inner west, will turn 50, showing the enduring power of the imported American shopping innovation. It arrived just eight years after New Zealand’s first, Lynnmall, … Read more
The duo behind Parnell eatery Simon & Lee talk Gochu, their latest venture in Auckland’s Commercial Bay, and the emerging mainstream popularity of Korean cuisine. Three months ago, before alert levels were even a thing, a small group of guests was invited to have their first taste of Gochu’s menu. With everything from fresh Kaipara … Read more
The much-awaited downtown retail and hospitality precinct finally opened its doors last week. The hospo offerings have been hyped for years – so where should you head first? It’s been a bit of a construction eyesore for a while now, but downtown Auckland’s waterfront area finally has its new shiny toy: Commercial Bay. Slats of … Read more
It’s a state-of-the-art retail and hospitality centre opening in the jaws of a recession. Michael Andrew takes a look at the hurdles and hopes for the new billion-dollar Commercial Bay. Earlier this week, two days before its official launch, the Commercial Bay development in downtown Auckland opened for a discreet preview. A small group of … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Rachel Taulelei, CEO of Kono. Demand for New Zealand produce overseas is currently up. Our country’s careful and … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Decision coming soon on move to level one, housing market in a weird place, and manslaughter charges laid against officers after custody death. As has been the way with these moves, we got an announcement of what the new alert level will be like, before … Read more
Still unsure about what you need to do in restaurants and bars under level two? You’re not alone, according to a new Spinoff-commissioned survey. Ongoing confusion around the use of mobile apps for contact tracing and social distancing in restaurants means New Zealanders and business owners still have work to do to correctly follow Covid-19 … Read more
Restaurants, cafes and bars have been allowed to reopen, with a whole lot of ever-evolving caveats. We check in on how the first few days have been. Inconsistent messaging and last-minute rule changes made the first weekend of alert level two “incredibly challenging” for hospitality businesses, says the Restaurant Association. The organisation worked with the … Read more
Budget 2020: What does this year’s budget mean for one of the hardest-hit sectors post-lockdown? Those in the industry give their initial reactions. As the country braces for the inevitable Covid-19 economic slump, today the government announced its “once in a generation” $50 billion budget. From that $50bn, $3.2bn has been set aside to extend … Read more
Jean Teng gets a lesson on the best ways to make top quality coffee from the comfort of her bubble. During lockdown, with more of us isolated from our local cafes and fancy work espresso machines, making coffee at home became a necessity – a fundamental matter of funnelling caffeine into our bodies. But I … Read more
With the government yet to announce its preferred contact tracing technology, the market is being flooded with private options. Alex Braae reports on an app developed for the local hospitality industry that has caught the eye of Wellington City Council. The Wellington City Council has officially adopted a contract tracing app of choice, with a … Read more
After these five long weeks without the joy of having a professional whip up dinner for you (unless you have a chef in your bubble), you deserve only the best. Here are our top tips for level three takeaways. As of Tuesday, takeaways are BACK, baby. Yes, that means the usual suspects – KFC and … Read more
Restaurants were already teetering on the edge. If they’re to survive this, the industry must come together and take one crucial step, writes Sophie Gilmour. We’ve heard about “the good old days” in hospitality – apparently, people wanted to work in the industry because they could make a decent living. Working conditions were great, people … Read more
Praise all that is good and holy, hospitality businesses are allowed to reopen next week – with a bunch of restrictions. Here’s what you need to know. Takeaways are back on next week, right? Thank god, I’m sick of cooking. Yes, New Zealand is moving down from alert level four to alert level three at … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re beaming in from our respective bubbles, joined by Al Keating of Coffee Supreme. Although we can’t be together in person, the Dietary Requirements team was not about to let a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rising tide of hardship putting strain on services, big wage cuts coming at Fletchers, and fears many hospitality businesses won’t be viable after lockdown. We’re beginning to get a picture of how the Covid-19 economic shock will hit those living in the most hardship, and … Read more