Greig Wilson: Courtney Place Precinct Group member and owner of businesses on string of hospitality closures in Wellington

Hospitality sales are down up to 50 percent, according to member of Courtney Place Precinct Group and owner of Courtney Place businesses, Greig Wilson. 

Cafe and bakery chain Pandoro is the latest to close it’s doors after 28 years - in a string of hospitality closures in the capital. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cafe and bakery chain Pandora is closing its is closing
its Wellington stores after twenty eight years in business. Follows
a string of closures from hospitality businesses and Wellington's in
the city, including Egmont Street eatery Field and Green Shepherd
con called Cafe Rubricks, and also sugar Woods Bars. Greg
Wilson is a Wellington business owner and member of the
Courtney Place Precinct Group and is with us. Now, hey,

(00:21):
Greg here, Pandora is an institution. Man, If these guys
can't survive, it must be really tough.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, that's that's a thing, right, These guys have been
an institution of Wellington for years, you know. And Egged
one Street two have been going for almost a decade
in Wellington. And these guys are you really good operators?
So yeah, it's a really seems pretty big message that
Welton's going through a really tough time at the moment. Yeah,
I'm business. What's that I was going to say?

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Like, the list of things that are going wrong for
you guys is so long, I don't even really know
where to start. But what do you think the most
the most influential.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Is Yeah, there's a bit of a list of things.
He's a lot. Biggest thing is has really been that
the publicity cuts this year had hammered Wellington. The social
housing issues in central Wellington haven't haven't helped at all.
There's the interest rates obviously seven percent. People have cut spending.
Hospitality is the first thing we cut, and the budgets

(01:16):
that type bet the public sector jobs. Actually, you know,
ninety five percent of people in this country still have
their job, so most people still have their job, but
it's there, it's the unknown. There a lot of people
know people that have lost their jobs, and so there's
that fear and that sort of that scaredness around like, oh,
we're going to stop spending and save my money because
all lot's around the corner. Let's wait and see. And

(01:38):
so that's what's happened right now. So's but springs come
along and it's given us a bit of a bit
of a bump in our mood today with a bit
of blue sky. So that's positive.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Did you guys have a good day in Wellington today?
It's amazing how that kind of stuff lives to spirits.
I was down on was down last month and the
thing that I noticed is the amount of construction that's
going on in the city, like in Taranaki Street just
outside Lee's Mills. That blinking that dugger has been there
for the longest time. What the hell is going on?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
You've been a little bit slow. I'll drive past you
every day and I feel like Polton. We get on
the side of the run jomping NK and and spade
and getting a bit of a hand. Yeah, it's taking
it too long. And I mean so well Auckland had
re turn with all the is having their turn, and
it's gone through a massive change with the street changes
and rote dig ups, and it is now Wellington's paying
Wellington's lagging infrastructure. Fortney Place is about to go through

(02:24):
a big major upgrades, so we can expect Courtney Places
to be dug up mid next year, you know, three
years man?

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Is that wise? Given everything you people have been through,
should they be doing that?

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well? Looky bit a look at Courtney Places now. It's
a bit tired and run down at the moment, Heather,
and look, we could keep going the way we're going,
otherwise we could make some change. And it's always really
hard for everyone to get behind. For us to start,
especially such a significant sort of transport where a destination
like Courtney Place that has a you know, entertainment habit
is also a thoroughfyre for buses. So that's a bit

(02:56):
scary for us business homes at the moment. But we
are working with account and we're meeting with accounts, are
really regily about getting a plan for Courtney Place, one
that we can really get behind and celebrate because we
want to bring Courtney Place back to.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
What it was. Grig, do you feel like you need
to be nice to the council so that you can
get your party.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Years shout up for your tory yet? No, we're working hopefully.
What's the council. Yeah, we've got that meeting next week
next Wednesdays. That minute, But the account had been pretty supportive.
We're working with them really closely. But we're looking hoping
to fix some change soon and it's just going to
take a bit more time.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, good luck man, but your care.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Yeah, Hospitality, we're a hard bunch in the hospitality. We're
just going through COVID. We two years of COVID and
I say to people, this kind of feels like COVID
but without the COVID. Yeah, And so it's hammering us again.
Businesses are going away. We're reinventing our businesses almost every day.
We're looking at the cost going what can we cut,
what can we change? For example, in our business here
they we're now outsourcing roles to the Philippines, finance night

(04:01):
rolls for the Philippines. It's said for New Zealand. But
that's the reality is to survive in this market, we've
got to be a bit more creative and cut costs
to survive, just to get through this year and survive
twenty five. As very real.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, I totally believe you, Greg, Thank you very much,
really appreciate it, mate, and go Well, that's Greg Wilson
who's a member of Courtney Place Precinct Group and owner
of Courtney Place businesses. And by the way, the party
I was talking about there is the part is this
is the New Year's Eve party. Greg and a bunch
of people are trying to trying to get the council
to go ahead with it and close off Courtney Place
for New Year's even Let them do like a little
family family initially family oriented party, later turning into no

(04:35):
doubt boots hag outfit as it gets closer to midnight
and our best of luck because he thinks that that
may help out with the businesses over news even probably will.
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