Hospitality veteran Luke Dallow. Photo / Janna Dixon
Hospitality veteran Luke Dallow. Photo / Janna Dixon
THREE FACTS
Famous Auckland restaurant SPQR closed its doors on July 12 after going into liquidation.
Ponsonby has seen several new eateries open this year, including San Ray and Bodega.
Today Luke Dallow cleared up speculation about his new venture in the neighbourhood and return to hospitality.
Its doors are shut but the future of SPQR looms large over its Ponsonby Rd spot.
With a prime location on the main drag - where its famous street-front seating was coveted right up to the restaurant’s July 12 closure, when it was placed into liquidationand shut its doors to patrons - the shuttered establishment is highly visible, leaving former patrons wondering what’s going to happen next with the lease.
The sun sets on Ponsonby Rd restaurant institution SPQR with liquidators appointed to the business in July. Photo / Alex Burton
And last week a photo was circulated of three men outside the restaurant, seated at a table (complete with tablecloth) enjoying the balmy winter sun and what appeared to be lunch.
Coincidental guerilla gastronomy? Or a sign something might be afoot for the famous Ponsonby spot?
Speculation an announcement might be coming, if not about SPQR then certainly something in the neighbourhood, was heightened following recent Facebook activity from New Zealand hospitality veteran Luke Dallow, who quit the industry two years ago.
“I am thrilled to announce that I will be opening a new site on Ponsonby Road,” Dallow posted on July 30, and it would be “a true Luke Dallow bar”. On Wednesday, Dallow posted again, teasing a “life-changing” announcement to come on Friday.
The Friday announcement detailed that Dallow would helm a “guerilla dining” series in Ponsonby this summer, with each three-course event taking place at a location that’s a mystery until patrons book. Dates are yet to be announced.
In a statement Dallow said Auckland was “crying out for a shot of adrenaline – a return to the raw, unfiltered energy of genuine” and the two-night-only events were “designed to shake up the status quo and remind us all of the thrill, the fun, and the spontaneity that dining out used to be about”.
Dallow has three decades in the hospitality industry under his belt, working internationally (opening Hard Rock Cafes around the world) and locally, where he was involved with Sale St, Chapel and most recently Midnight Gardener. Dallow quit the hospitality trade in 2022, saying it was “too hard” to run a profitable business in the local industry in the current market. Since leaving the industry Dallow has been working in real estate for Barfoot and Thompson.
Last month he reflected on his tenure in bars and restaurants, posting on Facebook about how hard it was to sell Chapel Bar & Bistro in 2020, and to see it fall into receivership under the current owners.
“No, sorry, I’m not re-opening SPQR,” he clarified.
“The city’s dining culture has evolved into something sleek, sophisticated and expensive, but in the process, it’s lost some of its soul.”
Following the news of SPQR’s liquidation, Kerre Woodham, Noelle McCarthy, Jesse Mulligan and Ricardo Simich shared memories from the restaurant’s heyday, and 2024 has seen many lament losses across the hospitality landscape.
