City restaurants close, economy sluggish in south

BY DEBBIE JAMIESON

Two popular Invercargill restaurants are closing their doors as Southland struggles to lift itself out of the recession.

Seafood specialist HMS Kings Ltd was placed into liquidation at the request of the Inland Revenue Department yesterday.

The restaurant has been closed since July 20.

Owner Robyn Waddel said difficult economic times had played a part in the closure, as had the illness of her partner and co-owner Jim Wardrop.

"My job now is to take care of him," she said.

She understood there were some potential buyers for the business.

Sopranos Gourmet Wood Fired Pizza restaurant has also announced it will close on Sunday.

Owner Matty Hawkes said it had been a slightly quieter winter than normal but the key reason for closing was that he and wife Kirsty had decided not to renew their Tay St lease.

"At this stage we're not happy with the current landlord," he said.

The restaurant's brand was strong and it had many loyal customers but the future was uncertain.

"We really do want to move to another premises."

Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Richard Hay said economic recovery had been much slower than expected and that had affected the hospitality industry.

"People are overly cautious and concerned about spending money and their priorities have somewhat changed to just getting the basics. That's certainly hit the food and beverage industry very hard.

"If you haven't got people come through the doors you can't pay the bills," he said.

The retail sector was also affected and the chamber was still getting reports of people being laid off. "To get through the recession is a big bonus but it really hasn't finished."

Invercargill Licensing Trust general manager Greg Mulvey said he believed the recession was not over.

"People's discretionary spending is down and the number of people visiting Invercargill is up and down.

"That also affects trade."

The trust, which is the single biggest operator in the hospitality industry in Invercargill, was recording revenue levels similar to last year, which was a difficult year also, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News