Eat Streat has geothermal underfloor heating, retractable awnings and special LED lighting. Photo / File
If someone asks you where to go for dinner in Rotorua, chances are your answer may be Eat Streat. But five years ago that wasn't the case. December 21 marked the anniversary of the street opening for business in its current form. Reporter Zizi Sparks looks back on the first five years.
The past
A decade ago the lakefront end of Tutanekai St was just a street and Rotorua Lakes Council was talking about the need for a dining precinct in the inner city.
The section of Tutanekai St between Whakaue and Pukaki streets was closed for al fresco dining as a trial that year but reopened to traffic about three months later.
Councillor Karen Hunt has seen Eat Streat grow from a proposal to a trial and to what it is now.
"There wasn't anywhere people wanted to gather in the inner city, it seemed a perfect opportunity because there were a lot of restaurants there."
Hunt said there was some opposition to the proposed permanent closure.
"No one in the country had done it. It was an innovative build," she said.
"Some people are inherently afraid of change or unable to comprehend something until it's built in front of them. We understand that but we must continue to innovate."
"I think it's gone well and there's been continued growth.
"There may be business changes in the future but it's cemented itself as an eatery and hospitality area."
The project cost $2.7 million and opened for business just before Christmas 2013. An official opening was held in 2014 after finishing touches had been put on.
The present
Jason Wright owns Sobar and is chairman of the Eat Streat Collective. He's been on the street for three years.
"I think it would be the restaurant and eatery precinct of Rotorua. There's so much variety down here, there's something for everyone.
Wright said the collective worked closely with the council, police and Māori wardens so there wasn't a big issue with crime.
Croucher said the new offerings on the street were all good.
"Everyone is upping their game and now people are coming in looking more professional."
Eat Streat was made smokefree at the start of this year. In an October Operations and Monitoring Committee meeting the council committee heard an assessment from Toi Te Ora public health found 3 per cent of people in the area were smoking in August.
"During the day and early evening there were few if any people counted smoking. The number increased after 9pm however the actual numbers were still very low. This is a very pleasing result," the report said.
The future
Conversations about extending Eat Streat have been on the radar over the years but never eventuated, Hunt said.
Coffey said the businesses also wanted to contribute to Rotorua reo rua, potentially by offering te reo lessons in the future but also having te reo on the menu, signage and art work.
Meanwhile, Leonardo Baldi has sold Leonardo's Pure Italian Restaurant, with the new owners taking over on December 14.
"It's a personal thing. To be honest over the last year I wasn't feeling well and I kind of lost sight of it, I lost my passion for it," Baldi said.
"It's time for something new."
The restaurant has been taken over by a company run by Deepak Kundal and Baljit Singh and will be run by general manager Mohinder Sawroop.
Kundal said the name would be changed to Leonardo's Italian Food and Wine and a new menu had been introduced just before Christmas.
Information on policedata.co.nz showed in the year to November 2018 there were 39 reported crimes in the vicinity of Eat Streat.
The data breaks down to include the block bordered by Whakaue St, Pukaki St, Rangiuru St and Fenton St.
Of the reported crimes, the majority were coded as either theft and related offences or unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter.
Earlier in the year Rotorua police noticed a spike in thefts from licensed premises in the Eat Streat area occurring in the early hours of the morning.
In July Ambrosia revealed it had been targeted four times in the year.