‘We just want to get on with it’: Northland hospitality businesses welcome Easter boost

Waitress Freya Sears, at Dickens Inn in Whangārei, serves a post-Easter weekend crowd. Photo / Tania Whyte

The re-opening of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns brought a welcome boost for many Northland business owners during the Easter break — with one saying it was like being back in pre-Covid days.

The Easter influx has been welcomed by a hospitality sector still recovering from the quadruple-whammy of the Covid pandemic, lacklustre summer weather, road closures caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and staff shortages.

Justin Le Cheminant, co-owner of Mokaba Café and Riverside Café in Whangārei, said the Town Basin was packed with domestic and international visitors and his eateries had a “steady, busy weekend”.

He’d been told all tour bus slots in the Town Basin carpark were full, which he couldn’t remember happening for years.

“It’s great to have them back. We welcome any tourists, whether they’re young or old or from New Zealand or overseas, with open arms. Three years without them is plenty long enough.”

Like many other business owners spoken to by the Advocate, Le Cheminant believed the temporary re-opening of the cyclone-damaged SH1 was a major factor behind the Easter influx.

“We’re just happy not to be cut off from the rest of New Zealand and to be able to get on with doing business rather than being interfered with by weather, governments and Covid. We just want to get on with it without someone sticking their elbow in.”

Some establishments closed for the long weekend, which was likely due to the extra cost or staff availability, but Le Cheminant said his cafés made a point of being open all Easter.

“In the modern world, you can’t just close up on a holiday anymore. We had customers who were very pleased to find somewhere open on Good Friday and thanked us for it.”

Another factor that helped bring crowds to the Town Basin was the mostly fine weather, which made a welcome change after a “crap” summer.

“You could probably count the really hot, sunny days on two hands. Maybe two hands and a foot. But now we’ve got school holidays through to Anzac weekend, so there’ll be people travelling and taking extra days off, so it’s looking pretty solid.”

Justin Le Cheminant, co-owner of the Mokaba and Riverside cafés at Whangarei’s Town Basin, is pleased to see tourists returning to the city. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Talk of a recession had not affected business, Le Cheminant said.

He believed people hit by higher mortgage rates might put off getting a new fridge or upgrading the car, but the odd latte or eggs benedict was the last thing they’d cut.

“We all need to have that comfort and a sense of normality. I think everyone craves that at the moment.”

In the town centre, however, business was “hit and miss”, according to Dickens Inn owner Mark Leslie-Ellis.

Easter trade didn’t live up to expectations, with average sales on Friday and Saturday and a quiet Sunday evening. Monday was big, partly because few other establishments were open.

“Business is usually slower in the first couple of weeks after daylight saving ends. It would’ve been nice to have four days of good trading over Easter, but it’s always hit and miss.”

Further north, Kerikeri’s Old Packhouse Market lived up to its name by being packed every opening day from Saturday to Monday.

Much of it was people socialising, eating and having coffees rather than shopping, with the café especially busy on Monday, co-owner Judy Hyland said.

“Gosh, it was busy. It was like pre-Covid days. A lot of it was having the road open both ways over the Brynderwyns, that made a huge difference.”

Kerikeri’s Old Packhouse Market was as busy as it used to be in pre-Covid days, owner Judy Hyland says. Photo / File

Aditya Gupta, who owns Paihia eateries Tipsy Oyster and Bad Habits as well as the Nauti Penguin pub in Russell, said Easter business was better than he’d expected.

The Paihia locations were busy all weekend with a mix of Kiwi families and overseas tourists, while the Nauti Penguin was quiet on Friday.

“It was nothing compared to pre-Covid, but still heaps of people,” Gupta said.

“It’s because the roads are back open, finally, so it doesn’t take as much time to travel up north.”

Cyclone Gabrielle triggered a series of major slips in the Brynderwyns, closing State Highway 1. Photo / Waka Kotahi

SH1 over the Brynderwyns has been closed or limited to one-way traffic since Cyclone Gabrielle triggered a series of major slips on February 11.

Following a temporary fix, the highway re-opened to two-way traffic in time for Easter weekend. It will close again for permanent repairs from April 17.

Even once permanent road repairs are complete, many Northland hospitality businesses will still be hobbled by a lack of staff.

The Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell has gone as far as starting its own after-hours ferry service so it can recruit staff across the water in Paihia or Haruru and save its local staff from burnout.

Le Cheminant said he struggled at times to find keen, experienced staff.

“One of the stress points is making sure you’ve got enough people on the roster when you’re busy for two or three weeks in a row. That won’t change until the Government eases up on their immigration settings,” he said.