There's a "real buzz" around Rotorua's CBD as businesses old and new are starting 2021 with a bang, taking down for lease signs and moving in.
Existing businesses expanding and diversifying, new businesses setting up and a food truck making the leap to brick-and-mortar premises are all contributing to the "good energy" in town.
Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bryce Heard said business confidence in the city had been "a bit of a mixed bag" but "overall it's much better than we would have expected six to eight months ago".
"Some of the businesses we expected to be suffering have been buoyant ... others have been seeing some patchiness with a few closures in areas like travel agents and those heavily reliant on international tourism. Forward bookings for accommodation remain strong.
"There are still issues for businesses in the CBD that we are concerned about but it does feel more positive, there has been a big demand for commercial spaces and we are starting to see some of those formerly empty shops filling up recently."
Heard said households in the middle to upper bracket were continuing to spend more locally now that travel is not possible and this had kept the economy ticking along.
He believes the good news coming out of the dairy industry will have a positive flow-on effect and major infrastructure investments around town also made him quietly confident things would look up in the years to come.
Professionals McDowell commercial real estate saleswoman Nadia Christensen said they were just coming off a "really busy run".
"We are seeing new ventures opening, some places are downsizing but we're also getting inquiries from businesses wanting to upsize too.
"It's feeling really positive out there, there's a real buzz around Rotorua. People want to be here, there's a good energy."
Christensen said landlords were willing to be flexible and negotiate to reach a favourable deal for all parties.
"There's still some matchmaking going on but it's all positive, stuff's moving."
One such movement is a retail store on Hinemoa St which will open as Q Records and Collectables in early March.
Owner Quentin Mcintosh used last year's March lockdown as an opportunity to start selling from his collection through Facebook.
"I would have never imagined it going as gangbusters as it has but it really took off.
"Without the lockdown and the pandemic, I don't know that I would have started the journey when I did.
"Being off work for those seven weeks really brought home the need to take charge of my own financial security.
"I set up the Facebook page because I've been a collector of LPs for more than a decade and had a huge amount of unplayed LPs sitting there.
"The LP community is a tight-knit one that looks after its traders. I've had so much support so when the real estate agent rang me last week and told me about this space, I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go for it.
"There's nothing like this in Rotorua right now. As a collector, I have to go to Taupō, Tauranga, Hamilton, even Auckland to visit stores. I want to provide a one-stop-shop for all things alternative culture in our city."
Mcintosh said his new store would stock LP records, CDs, cult-classic DVDs, collectables and a "small but impressive" collection of second-hand LP records.
"It's a huge risk to take, even when you take Covid out of the equation, but you just have to be confident that you have the skills from previous jobs to make it successful.
"If I can have half the support I've had with the Facebook page, I'll be thrilled."
Kaya Sparke set up her food truck FTP Vegan Eats with the vision to service the demand for plant-based cuisine in Rotorua.
Two years later, the young businesswoman has made the leap to brick and mortar, leasing a cosy nook on Arawa St.
"We've had the food truck at the night market now for two years and we've had a lot of people asking us where we were the rest of the week, so we started looking into opening up a permanent spot.
"We had always had it in the back of our minds ... The spot we've opened up in we had our eye on before it even came up for lease because it was such a cute little building in a really great part of town.
"It was after the first lockdown that we noticed the Arawa St place was empty and we got in touch with a real estate agent, who got us in touch with the landlords and we just went from there."
Sparke said she was cautious making the move as it "is a big step even in the best situations".
"But what we decided is if we didn't make the leap, we would regret it when we saw somebody else open up in that cute little space.
"What was really scary was that we signed the lease the day before Auckland went back into lockdown in August so at that moment we thought 'oh my God, what have we done' but if we can make it work in the worst of times, we can make it work in the best of times."
Sparke spent the next four months fitting out the kitchen while her business partner and mum, "who has a real eye for interior design", focused on making the storefront presentable.
"We were both still working full time at other jobs while doing this so I think that's what made it take a little longer than we were expecting.
"It was a stressful few months ... but really glad to be open now."
Sparke opened the shop last Saturday and will be open Wednesday to Saturday each week.
"We will still be at the night market with the food truck and will continue to do the different events around the Bay of Plenty because we continue to get good feedback from people about providing a vegan option."
She said while they tried not to become complacent, Covid-19 did feel like a bit of a distant memory.
"It's quite surreal watching the rest of the world and thinking we're actually able to open a store when other countries are still in lockdown but we also know there can be another outbreak at any time ... so we don't take this for granted."
Now is the time to jump in the water if you're looking to set up a business in Rotorua, Sunil Dhayal, owner of Rotorua's newest Mexican eatery, says.
El Chapo Mexican Grill opened its doors last week at the former Tutanekai St site of Sustain Vegetarian Takeaways.
Dhayal, who also runs El Burrito, says his vision for Rotorua is to have people living and eating healthily.
"With my first shop, my goal was to bring Mexican culture to Rotorua. With this second shop, my focus is on inexpensive but healthy food.
"But my vision also goes beyond just healthy eating, I want my business to be healthy for the environment, which is why I've made my own furniture and planted plants, it's a whole concept."
He said he was not a chef by trade but went into businesses with the aim of developing his skills.
"If your focus is on your skills, the money will follow. If your focus is on money, the skills won't follow. That's my advice to anyone."
Dhayal said his newest venture was a spontaneous one but he saw the opportunity in expanding his business at this time.
"The Lakefront is changing, subdivisions are being built, in a few years, the town will be completely different. Any smart business person will be looking at Rotorua as a place to set up now before it becomes more expensive."
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