With liquidations soaring and six-figure debts making headlines, let’s look at the figures (and the bigger picture).
Prices are up everywhere (the cheese! the butter!). Across the country people have one eye on their bank statements and the other on fuel prices. Headlines about restaurant liquidations arrive each morning like clockwork. And yet… hospitality spend in May was up 3.5% on April. There are new openings every week and people are still going out. Some diners are choosing cheaper eateries , but others find mid-bracket restaurants comparable in price to takeaways, making them a tempting alternative. People are queuing outside cafes and kebab shops. Let’s take the temperature of the industry and see what the numbers say.
414
The number of hospitality liquidations in the past year, according to the Credit Indicator Report released by Centrix Credit Bureau in May. It pointed to rising costs, reduced spending and the impact of mortgage stress on small business owners as contributing factors. The industry famously operates on razor-thin margins already, leaving most operators with little buffer to absorb the increasing financial demands of rent, rates, power, gas, wages, produce and, well, everything right now.
49%
The increase in hospitality liquidations year-on-year. It’s a grim figure, but it’s worth noting it doesn’t only apply to eateries. Centrix looked at businesses classified as Accommodation & Food Services, a category that encompasses restaurants and cafes alongside bars, pubs, taverns, clubs, caterers and takeaway shops, as well as hotels, motels and other short-term accommodation providers. Not captured are grocery stores, specialty food shops and places like your local butcher or bakery, which fall under Retail Trade and face similar economic pressures and consequences .
1.3%
The proportion of the hospitality sector that those 414 liquidations amount to. It’s a huge industry.
$3 million
An eye-watering figure. That’s what Christchurch hospitality company Kihon Ltd owes to its creditors , which includes Inland Revenue, who applied for liquidation earlier this month. The company’s restaurants, Jimmy’s Smoke House Ltd, Sake Brothers Ltd and Sushi & Zenbu Ltd, collectively owe nearly $2 million in tax.
$692,000
How much Karangahape Road’s fabled Verona was found to be owing according to its liquidators . First opened in 1992, the doors beneath that famous glittering sign shut on April 24 and have stayed closed since.
Still closed. (Photo: The Spinoff)
3
The number of Downlow Burger franchises that have gone into liquidation in the space of nine months. One of them, located in Kelston, only survived three months .
$800,000
The debts accrued by Auckland’s Luna cafe by the time receivers were called in. The lion’s share of it – $624,000 to be exact – was unpaid tax. Luna isn’t alone; Inland Revenue is chasing businesses as part of a wider crackdown on outstanding debts. The increased enforcement – a government directive supported by $64m in funding – since July 2025 has tipped many companies into insolvency.
5 months
The brief honeymoon for Ponsonby matcha bar, Honeymoon Ave, before it ended up in liquidation along with Gemmi and Gochu, two other businesses operated by Namu Group. For years it seemed Namu Group could do no wrong. Founder and director David Lee was considered influential, visionary and awarded accordingly; he was going places. Where is he now? Australia . (We did the numbers on that exodus too.)
38 years
How many years Harbourside stayed in the game before deciding to shut up shop. Last month its owners announced the restaurant would close because it was “no longer commercially viable”. It’s currently in its last days of trading and will shut for good on June 13.
$2.43 million
The property value of 455 Richmond Road. It’s the location of popular Grey Lynn bar Gypsy Tea Room, but not for much longer; the business has to be gone by August. Building owners Barfoot & Thompson have plans to redevelop the spot for its local branch, but they’re currently being threatened with a boycott by local property owners.
3316
People who have signed a petition imploring Barfoot & Thompson to change their mind .
$18,000
How much one Wellington cafe worker was owed by her employer Black Lion Bakery and Cafe, following her unjustifiable dismissal. However, the Cuba Street business never paid her out and was instead placed in liquidation due to the unpaid debt.
SOS. (Headlines: Stuff, Herald)
43
The age of the Mexican Cafe, which is in dire straits too. The restaurant went public this month with its search for investors or a buyer for the “ struggling ” business.
30
The lifespan of Wellington’s Chocolate Fish Cafe, which had survived multiple locations and a nearby fire but not the end of its lease, much to its founders’ disappointment . Their February closure compounds the endangered species status of chocolate fish in New Zealand.
26
Leuven Belgian Beer Cafe’s tenure in t…
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