NEW ZEAL AND
TO ONCE MORE MAKE THIS DOCK A HOME
Otis Redding once sang, “Looks like, nothing’s going to change” in (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay. For the owners of the popular Wharf Bar & Restaurant in Gisborne such a line was once worth emulating. But, when disaster struck in early 2016 they knew nothing would remain the same.
Perched on the easternmost point of the North Island coast, Gisborne is a charming New Zealand town with enviable sunshine hours and fertile clay loam soil. High quality fresh produce and world-class wines are the rule rather than the exception ‘out east’. Add this to expansive views of a pretty marina and it’s easy to see how The Wharf Bar & Restaurant become somewhat of a local icon over its 18-year tenure. However it was an icon almost consigned to history one fateful day last January. During the busiest summer on record a fire broke out in the kitchen and travelled up the flue into the office above. While the bar was fortunately closed at the time the mezzanine floor quickly swelled with smoke and onlookers described ‘wall to wall flames’ as the fire engulfed the building. Adjoining businesses
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were evacuated and firefighters managed to contain the blaze in the restaurant, saving the surrounding buildings from any serious damage. It was a blow that would have dropped a less resilient business. Eleven months on, the restaurant has reopened its doors and now, with a sleek new design and a renewed focus, it’s going from strength to strength. Throughout the disruption following the fire, owner Grant Fussell kept his customers at the forefront of his plans. “Local families have a lot of history at The Wharf,” he says. “It’s an iconic location for birthdays, weddings and other celebrations. So we wanted the new premises to deliver both a celebratory space and more personal areas.”
| Connection Q2 2017 |