Christchurch hospitality focus. Tancred St / Worcester St: National State of Emergency, 29.03.11. Exactly 5 weeks post 22 Feb, M6.3 Killer Quake, Under The Red Verandah restaurant restarted as After The Red Verandah, a microcosm of quaked hospitality in Christchurch. The old, 2 storey restaurant was damaged by the Feb 22 Killer Quake, soon demolished. While dining, some people were cut by flying glass. All that was left, a heap of rubble behind a steel mesh fence cordon.
29.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Under The Red Verandah, Tancred St / Worcester St, demolished post Feb 22 quake, national state of emergency
29.03.11. Under the Red Verandah sign, top of demolition rubble, retrieved & nailed to After The Red Verandah fence, national state of emergency
Jake who worked at the restaurant had a lucky escape while drinking coffee outside, when a brick out-bldg collapsed during the Feb 22 Killer Quake. He pulled out the hot water cylinder with his bare hands & helped work mates escape. Jake, Luke, Leah were all close to catastrophe in the Feb 22 Killer Quake.
29.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post Feb 22 quake renovations, Under The Red Verandah, Tancred St / Worcester St, national state of emergency
Jake's employer paid him during post quake limbo weeks, while things restarted. Employers could apply to NZ National govt to subsidize several weeks' post quake lost wages for employees, which provided Jake's limbo wages. (Business interruption insurance). Jake's boss strung Jake along to get labour out of him, when Jake could've been looking for another job. Rotten industrial relations hadn't changed since I'd stopped Christchurch labourer work over 10 years before. NZ had a small population, a low wage economy. Some were supremely rich of course, stashing wealth in trusts or charities so Inland Revenue couldn't snaffle.
Others in the hospitality industry lost jobs, especially those in the CBD, which became a NO GO, red zone, check-pointed by NZDF soldiers & cops during the post quake, National State of Emergency. During the last couple of weeks before resuming business, Jake helped reshape the next door cottage as After The Red Verandah, by recycling bricks from the demolished restaurant, landscape-gardening the back of the new restaurant.
29.03.11. Opening of After The Red Verandah restaurant, 5 weeks post Feb 22 quake, national state of emergency, Tancred St / Worcester St
The Red Verandah wall, chalkboard notice:
AFTER THE RED
VERANDAH
temporary premises
Takeaway, coffee, muffins,
scones, hot soup & sammies.
Enjoy cottage garden
or sit inside.
We can't wait to see you.
Open Tuesday 29th...
Tues 29.03.11: We had lunch at the new restaurant: ham, cheese toasted sandwiches, muffins, tea. Diners enjoyed the new garden ambience. Two brindled, brown pups played in the garden, while people dined, socialized. The old Under The Red Verandah sign, battered, scuffed, torn, was retrieved from demolition rubble & fastened to the back fence. While we ate, a yellow digger next door dumped rubble into a truck. Digger rumbled, like aftershocks.
29.03.11. Five weeks post Feb 22 quake, opening day garden of After The Red Verandah restaurant, Tancred St / Worcester St, national state of emergency
Good to see Jake working again, happy with work mates, tinged with sadness, his best friend, a pub worker, killed by the quake in the CBD. A tribute for his friend, mates back on the job remembering him. While we ate, a camera crew arrived, taking pics. A lady wandered the cottage looking for places to hang new art works, the demolished restaurant had a gallery on the top floor.
29.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition of Under The Red Verandah restaurant, Tancred St / Worcester St, national state of emergency. Revamped After The Red Verandah restaurant opened the same day
A week after opening of After The Red Verandah, Jake was sacked: smaller restaurant, less customers. Sacked when his NZ National govt funded, employee wage subsidy expired. Sacking Jake, the restaurant lost us as customers. Within 6 weeks Jake lost his job twice. After going on the dole, overwintering in a liquefactioned garage with smelly chemical toilet & after another flat move, it took Jake 6 months to find another hospitality job in Christchurch. Inadequate dole, we helped Jake & girlfriend with rent money, groceries, washing, storage.
Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, the hospitality industry imploded, abandoned hotels trapped in the militarized, CBD red zone cordon. Hospitality workers left Christchurch, after quake closures of pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels, motels. Thousands had already left Christchurch. We didn't leave. Two expat families had offered us quake-holidays in Oamaru or Nelson. But we had to return to Christchurch, as friends, education, business, work contacts were in Christchurch. Our Burnside rental was intact. Hordes of do-gooders would arrive in Christchurch, helping recovery, but inflating the rental market. Did NZ National govt do anything about that? Nah, just left it to market forces.
*Trekked Worcester St. 17 snaps.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
That's just lovely :-) congrats all around for the tenacity.
ReplyDeleteSandy