Famous Thai restaurant Mai Thai to close as CRL and coronavirus outbreak bites
One of Auckland's oldest Thai restaurants will be closing after being severely impacted by the Auckland City Rail Link (CRL) construction and coronavirus outbreak. Mai Thai, which opened for business in 1989, has been steadily losing customers since the CRL works began - but owner Bow Manoonpong says the sharp drop in tourist numbers was "the straw that broke this camel's back". The Restaurant Association said many restaurant owners are now in "desperate situations" with many facing temporary closures. Mai Thai is the second longest running Thai eatery in the city, with the oldest being Red Elephant on Khyber Pass Rd - previously known as Chang Thong - which started a year earlier. Manoonpong said the restaurant, famous for its pad thai noodles and tom yum goong, will shut its doors for the last time at the end of April. "It was such a difficult and painful decision to make, but we didn't have any other choice," said Manoonpong, who started the business when she was just 26. "We have had many good memories here, and Mai Thai is happy to have been the pioneers in bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Aucklanders." Mai Thai has won the Thai Select award for the past 15 years, and queues to get into the 160-seater restaurant were a common sight in the past. The restaurant has hosted former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her officials during her visit to New Zealand, and has been regarded as the "official venue" for dinners by visiting Thai delegations and officials. But since works began for the city rail link, the once bustling Albert St had been turned into a massive construction site. Recent travel and immigration restrictions due to the virus also meant tourists and international students have almost vanished in recent weeks. "When tourists stopped coming there was no way we could survive, and since our lease was also up for renewal we thought this was time to say goodbye," Manoonpong said. "I problems started with the CRL, but I think the coronavirus situation is what broke this camel's back." In its last month of operation, Mai Thai will be donating $2 from each main dish it sells to Starship Hospital as a way to thank Aucklanders for their support. Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois is calling on Kiwi locals to continue dining out or risk losing more ethnic restaurants. Two fine dining Asian eateries that opened last year, Red Wall 1939 at the Parnell Rose Garden and Epicer by Michelin-star chef Manjunath Mural on Ponsonby Rd, have also closed down. "We are fielding a number of calls from business owners in desperate situations, asking for advice as they face temporary closure. Many of these calls are coming from our ethnic restaurants," Bidois said. "These restaurants are struggling on two fronts; a lack of international tourists particularly from China where group bookings in Chinese restaurants are common during the summer period and also from local diners staying away for fear of being exposed to the virus." Bidois said the association had in the last two weeks received calls from Chinese, Indian, Thai, Italian and also Iranian restaurants which seemed to be the most affected. "These businesses are feeling largely unheard. We are doing all we can to assist with our free emergency membership to businesses that need it," she said. "We enjoy a vibrant and diverse dining scene in New Zealand and we want to see that continue so we urge local diners to continue to dine out."
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Dry cleaners mt Roskill
Hello our fellow neighbors I was hoping someone would know where the old dry cleaners we had up at the lights on dominion road have moved to?? I was out of town and when I came back they were gone .... I had some items that I would really love to get back but if only I new where they moved to or how to get In Touch with the owners to see what they did with our clothes if they closed down or moved elsewhere? Any updates or news about it would be amazing neighbors. Have a great day
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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59.8% Yes, supporting people is important!
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25.9% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.4% ... It is complicated
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
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