Winter is the time in Raglan when shops and cafes, open, close and move around. This winter sees the pattern continuing.
It started with Warehouse Building Supplies/ Raglan Building Supplies moving from Wallis Street to new larger premises at 18 Nau Mai Road in the Nau Mai Business Park on SH 23. Next the Blind Tiger cafe in the old Vinnies building at 7 Wainui Road closed its doors. This allowed the Raglan Surf Co, to move in, just a few doors along from its old location at 3 Wainui Road.
The shutters then went up at 3 Wainui Road as it became a case of, ‘watch this space’. Around the corner at 9 Bow Street, Rip Curl has closed and been replaced by a surf clothing outlet store.
At 6 Wallis Street, the Local Eatery held a garage sale then closed. Across the road at 1 Wallis Street, new concrete was laid in the yard and the building was painted that Raglan blacksand colour. This is the home of a new retailer called, ‘The Raglan Project’. It stocks homewares, hardware and building supplies.
Around the corner at the Bow Street Depot cafe, on Saturday the lights were on and the store room was being checked, so it’s another case of watch this space.
Further up Bow Street, the Raglan Social Club has signs up saying, ‘Under New Management’ and “We Are Hiring, so it seems it has been sold to new owners.’
How many other people wonder why there is such a high turnover of cafes in Raglan?
It’s something I wonder about. Although most NZ start-up cafes fail in the first year, the number failing here seems to be even higher. Even experienced cafe owners find Raglan tough. One factor is the winter when tourist numbers drop away. Cafe owners need to have a range that appeal to the locals to keep their business going through the harsh trading condition during winter.