Wellington’s Bordeaux Bakery is closing all three of its stores, with the owner blaming council road changes outside its Thorndon Quay business for a significant reduction in revenue.
The bakery and cafes in Thorndon Quay, Featherston St, and Lambton Quay are all closing on Sunday, and the wholesale bakery operation too.
Owner Tony Bates told the Herald he was devastated to have to shut up shop, and primarily blames the council’s “ongoing removal of car parks”.
“Everyone keeps telling us how hard it is to get to us”, he said.
The business has been serving freshly baked bread for 30 years and blames Wellington City Council decisions for its closure. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The family-owned business has operated in Thorndon Quay since 1994, known for its “authentic daily-baked” french bread, cakes, sweet treats and savouries.
“It got to a point a couple of weeks ago when we were crunching the numbers that we were going to end up insolvent,” Bates said.
“We’ve lost between 60-70% of our turnover because of the works outside.”
The business employs 40 staff who Bates described as being “like family”, with many upset to hear the news today.
Several staff have been working at the business since before Bates purchased it bout six years ago, “and those are the sort of people I have to tell ‘you’ve got no job because there’s no car parks’. It was hard. It was very hard for them and for me”.
“My entire retirement plans are all gone,” he said.
When asked what caused the business’ financial woes, Bates said “council decisions, 100%”.
Construction started on the Thorndon Quay project last year as part of Let’s Get Wellington Moving before being transferred to the Wellington City Council in March, with an aim to bolster public transport choices from the northern suburbs to the city.
Council documents from 2021 outline plans to reduce the total number of car parks on the stretch from 333 to 202, which it said was “expected to be sufficient based on average occupancy”.
Roadworks in Thorndon Quay have proved contentious, with businesses taking legal action against the council. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Disruptive roadworks around the site have proved contentious, and have prompted backlash from Fire and Emergency New Zealand and several businesses along the route.
Several businesses, concerned it would affect access for their customers, formed the Thorndon Quay Collective and filed a judicial review in the High Court challenging the council’s decision-making process.
But, while the court found the council did not comply with its obligations under law, it has not ordered the roadworks be halted, or the car park changes undone.
Bates said when the council first told businesses it had done a safety audit and were going to make roading changes, operators “tried to negotiate with them”.
“We tried to compromise with them. We tried to work with them, and they just were not interested in any of that.”
He thinks the changes have made it “more dangerous” for cyclists.
“They’ve destroyed businesses, so well done council,” he said.
Cyclists using the newly installed cycleway in Thorndon Quay. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Bates said Bordeaux Bakery was a destination business.
“People don’t just walk up and down street and think ‘oh, I think I’ll go to Bordeaux today’ — that’s just not a thing that happens.
“It’s people go there specifically to come to us, and in order for that to occur, they need car parks,” he said.
When asked, Bates acknowledged other factors have contributed to the businesses’ challenges, with more people working from home, the Government’s public sector cuts, and the cost of living.
“Eventually, you get to a tipping point where you just simply cannot put your prices up any further because that will just keep driving away what few customers you do have left.”
Last month, Wellington City Council discussed a proposal to provide “micro grants” of $1500 to struggling businesses affected by the works.
Council officials are understood to still be working on the proposal.
Bates described that idea as an “insult” and “ridiculous tokenism”, saying he didn’t even intend to apply for the package.
“I lose more than $1500 a day from my turnover,” he said.
Bates said he intended to write a letter to the council about its part in his business’ closure.
Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in politics, local issues and the public service. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz or messaged on X (formerly Twitter) via the handle @ethanjmanera.
