Port-O-Call says goodbye to Ahuriri

Nuala Walsh (left) with Port-O-Call gift shop owner Tania Codlin. Port-O-Call is closing down after being unable to negotiate lease conditions. Photo / Warren Buckland

It’s time to say goodbye to an Ahuriri institution.

After decades of high tea and gift shopping, Port-O-Call is set to close its doors after the owner was unable to negotiate lease conditions that would work with the business.

Like many other local businesses, it has been hard times for Port-O-Call after hanging on through two years of heavy Covid restrictions. When Cyclone Gabrielle hit, that also had a massive impact, because as soon as the roads shut, there was no one coming in.

Closing Port-O-Call was a difficult decision for owner Tania Codlin, who took over the business five years ago. She loves Port-O-Call and her customers and has formed a close friendship with staff member Nuala Walsh, who has been by her side since day one.

Port-O-Call gift shop owner Tania Codlin explained the decision to close was hard, but it's the only option. Photo / Warren Buckland

“I’ve owned it for five years, and financially, I’ve had the worst five years ever with two rounds of Covid and a cyclone. I believe I did quite well to stay in business, and have no retail background.”

However, not being able to come to a workable lease agreement really was the last straw for Port-O-Call.

Codlin said the hardest part of closing down has been people coming in and saying, ‘Aw, it’s so sad you’re closing’.

“It is very sad, but I just could not negotiate lease conditions that would fit our business and that is why I am having to close, which is a hard reason, really,” she said.

As far as giftware goes, Port-O-Call really is a port of call for people from all over New Zealand and overseas when they come to Ahuriri.

Nuala Walsh, a fashion assistant at the Port-O-Call gift shop, is getting ready for her next retail journey as the Napier shop gets ready to close. Photo / Warren Buckland

While closing down the shop is a difficult decision, Codlin said the closing of the cafe was probably even more difficult, but that became financially unviable during and after Covid restrictions.

“When the cafe was open, Port-O-Call had people from as far as England visit for their high tea sessions,” she said.

Art Deco would also normally bring in a lot of business for the small Ahururi staple, with the owner saying back in the day, Art Deco weekends would be manic - the shop would host 30 to 40 high teas an hour, and would suddenly go from requiring two staff members to needing to find nine.

However, during Covid, Art Deco saw cancellation after cancellation, which put a damper on Port-O-Call’s high teas, and it began to fizzle out from there and eventually ceased to be financially viable.

Port-O-Call’s high tea cafe has been closed for more than 18 months now, but Codlin still has people turning up for cups of tea.

Ahuriri staple Port-O-Call is set to shut up shop in early September due to leasing issues. Photo / Warren Buckland

Although the store is closing down, Codlin is not selling the business as such and may very well pop up somewhere else in the future.

For those who can’t make it into Port-O-Call or live outside of Hawke’s Bay, the store’s online site will continue to stay live after the physical shop closes. However, Codlin is not sure if that will just be live until all the stock is sold or if Port-O-Call will become an online store.

For now, the business owner is looking at taking a bit of a break from the retail space. Codlin also plans to keep running her card classes out of her home and is excited to dip her toes back into emergency nursing.

Port-O-Call plans to close its door in early September. However, you can keep updated with the business and its official closing date on its Facebook page, which is still posting regular updates and sales.

Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with the NZME for almost three years now and has a strong focus on what’s going on in the communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz.