Sun puts sparkle back in Viaduct

By JOSIE CLARKE consumer reporter

The Viaduct Harbour is back in business as partying Christmas crowds end a lean winter for the area's bars and eateries.

Outdoor areas that struggled to attract a handful of customers during the winter weeks are full again as warmer weather lures customers back to the waterfront.

Student revellers celebrating the end of exams have packed bars over recent weekends - a sure sign the Viaduct will once again be Auckland's hottest spot this summer.

Restaurant Association chief executive Neville Waldren said business had returned, predictably, to the area as the weather warmed up.

"The whole area is kicking along again. I don't think it's quite back to the same levels [of last summer] but I would think operators would be quite pleased with the business they're doing."

One of the backers of Princes Wharf's Leftfield, Ric Salizzo, said business dropped less than 10 per cent during the winter, with sports events and functions keeping the sports bar busy.

Last Thursday was the bar's busiest one in months, with customers back into party mode as Christmas approached.

"Each weekend, as the weather gets better, there seems to be more people just wandering," he said.

A "Darwinian natural selection process" had altered the makeup of the Viaduct over the winter months, he said.

The victims include Anzu, owned and operated by leading chef Warwick Brown, and Viaggio, a top-end Italian restaurant that boasted it would remain successful long after the America's Cup bonanza was over.

"The winter has made all the operators think a bit smarter," said Mr Salizzo.

"The beauty about the America's Cup was that you basically just had to open your door - that's as clever as you had to be."

He had always been confident that the area would lure the crowds back. "You'd be saying something pretty negative about Auckland if we couldn't make this waterfront work."

Loaded Hog outlet manager Steve Clarke said Wednesday and Thursday nights had taken off over the past few weeks, and this winter had been the bar's busiest in seven years at the Viaduct.

"It's not far off last year's business. It's going fantastically."