Diners return to Wynyard after election lull

Glen Giroux's Indian restaurant Urban Turban has been doing well during December. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The Wynyard Quarter has been up and down since its opening - booming after its launch and throughout the Rugby World Cup but quieter during the election.

It was all but abandoned during a drizzly lunchtime last week, keeping restaurateurs waiting for the precinct to come into its own, although business has already exceeded expectations.

"The people that took these sites were visionaries who saw the big picture rather than just the Rugby World Cup," said Urban Turban owner Glen Giroux.

"There's been a high expectation that overnight this was going to be a magical place. But it's like any neighbourhood, people need to come and test it out first, be drawn to it."

Mr Giroux said his Indian restaurant was doing well through December with corporate functions and the new year was looking positive.

It helped that the restaurant relied mostly on dinners, he said.

"There's no real drawcard if it's a Monday afternoon. If it's nice out, people will come over the bridge and walk around.

"The test will come in June or July."

Live Fish manager Lawrence Leow said trade had dropped off by 30 to 40 per cent the week after the World Cup but it had since recovered.

"Now it's pretty much business back to normal, though the weekends aren't as busy as they used to be."

The restaurant was established in the neighbouring fish market before it moved to Wynyard Quarter, so it had a regular clientele, he said.

"This area has a nice feeling. You get a family environment and well-behaved patrons.

"Lunchtimes are generally quieter, simply because we don't have any residences or offices. In 14 months ASB will come up so I think it will be better."

Becky and John Vanderbom have visited the precinct about once a month with their 1-year-old son since it opened.

"It's too far to walk from town, but there's good parking here," Mrs Vanderbom said.

"For us, the children's playground works quite well if I meet my husband for lunch. But there are only a couple of cafes - it does feel a little bit formal. We feel a little self-conscious going with him to most of the places."

A Waterfront Auckland spokesman said people walking across the footbridge into the precinct ranged from 30 an hour on a quiet day to 120.

"For opening day we had 50,000 people come to Wynyard Quarter and while we thought there might be a drop-off in the weeks following, that never eventuated," he said.

"As far as customers and patrons go for the North Wharf eateries, it's safe to say the general consensus is that it's definitely exceeded their expectations."

The Silo Park area in particular had taken on a life of its own with the introduction of regular outdoor movies and live music, he said.

Regular markets will start next month and the Laneway music festival and the Seafood Festival will be held, followed by the Volvo Round the World boat race stopover and the Latin Festival in March.

"From our point of view the area will not be fully settled in for some time yet as we're always adding to the amenity of the spaces through events overlay and development projects," he said.

Significant improvements were planned for the Wynyard Quarter playground and traffic flows.

Other plans included the opening of ASB's new headquarters in 2013, the building of a multimillion-dollar superyacht facility, a proposed five-star hotel overlooking Viaduct Harbour and a business case for a Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct being looked at by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development.