Owner blames council road changes for sharp drop in revenue
Forty employees at Wellington's Bordeaux Bakery will lose their jobs as the company shutters all three of its stores after 30 years in business, according to reports.
The closures will affect locations on Thorndon Quay, Featherston Street, and Lambton Quay, along with the bakery's wholesale operation. The final day of operation will be Sunday, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Owner Tony Bates expressed deep disappointment over the decision, placing significant blame on recent changes made by the Wellington City Council.
Bates cited the removal of car parks outside the Thorndon Quay store as the main factor behind a sharp decline in revenue.
"Everyone keeps telling us how hard it is to get to us," Bates told the New Zealand Herald.
Bates explained that roadworks and council decisions have resulted in the loss of 60 to 70% of the bakery's turnover. This financial strain ultimately made it impossible to keep the business afloat.
"It got to a point a couple of weeks ago when we were crunching the numbers that we were going to end up insolvent," he said.
The bakery, known for its freshly baked French bread, cakes, and pastries, has been a fixture in Thorndon Quay since 1994.
Bates purchased the business six years ago, and several employees have worked there since before his ownership. Bates described his staff as being "like family," adding that many of them were devastated by the closure announcement.
"Those are the sort of people I have to tell, 'you've got no job because there's no car parks.' It was hard. It was very hard for them and for me," Bates said.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the Wellington City Council reduced car parks along Thorndon Quay as part of a project aimed at improving public transport and cyclist safety. Construction on the project, which began last year, has drawn backlash from local businesses, including Bordeaux Bakery, as well as Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
In 2021, the council changed angled parking spots to parallel ones, significantly reducing the number of available car parks. A judicial review was filed by businesses along Thorndon Quay to challenge the council's decision, and the Court of Appeal ruled in July that the council had erred in its decision-making process. However, the ruling did not halt the changes or reverse the parking reductions.
Bates expressed frustration with the council's lack of engagement with business owners, telling the New Zealand Herald: "We tried to compromise with them. We tried to work with them, and they just were not interested in any of that."
While parking issues have been the primary cause of the bakery's financial difficulties, Bates acknowledged that other factors, such as more people working from home and the cost-of-living crisis, also played a role.
"Eventually, you get to a tipping point where you just simply cannot put your prices up any further because that will just keep driving away what few customers you do have left," he said.
The Wellington City Council has discussed the possibility of providing financial assistance to businesses affected by the roadworks, including a proposed $1500 "micro grant." However, Bates dismissed the offer, calling it "ridiculous tokenism."
