Cafes OK, but most Auckland shopkeepers count the cost

There were glum faces behind the flickering lights of Queen St shop fronts before businesses slowly returned to life after the power cut.

"It sucked. We're going home," said Johnathan Forbes, owner of the Ten Dollar Fashion Clearance Warehouse on Queen St.

"It's good weather for looting," he added. The footpaths were strangely quiet and many traders were anticipating a 50 per cent loss in sales.

"It's really, really bad that a big city has come to a standstill," said Glenys Davison, manager of accessories store Passion for Leather.

MidCity Newsagents owner Sharad Ghule said the mall should have provided more "support" for small businesses.

"It's not fair because we are paying to maintain the mall and we are suffering," he said.

"Without power we can't do anything."

The tattoo studio Ballistic also suffered plenty of pain.

"We scheduled our customers and now we can't get them to come back in," said tattoo artist Steve Waugh.

He estimated the business's loss at about $600.

Winnie Zhao of Pearl Sea 100 said the shop could not be opened because it wasn't safe.

"There's no light so if people steal something we can't see it," she said.

Customers were also left in the dark inside gift shop Kiwitown Souvenirs. "We used candles but customers didn't want to come in the shop because it's too dark," said retail assistant Young Kim.

Some retailers on Queen St had decided to take an unofficial day off because of the power cut.

A handwritten note outside of clothing store Max said: "Sorry Debs, we have been told to go home. Phones are down. I hope you got my text."

But some retailers reaped the benefits of the gloomy day.

Gloria Jean cafe was doing brisk business at lunchtime (although there were no hot drinks).

"We made $500 in an hour, usually it's $150," said assistant manager Yonathan Berglund.