Velvet Burger Octagon, in Lower Stuart St, announced its closure in a social media post at the weekend. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN Beloved Dunedin fast-food outlet Velvet Burger Octagon has announced its closure after 20 ‘‘incredible’’ years in the city centre. It is the second popular central city hospitality business to announce its closure in less than a week. Last week, Moiety, a small owner-operated restaurant with award-winning chefs, also announced its closure in a post on social media. In a social media post at the weekend, Velvet Burger said it opened its doors in Lower Stuart St in 2006, ‘‘and what a ride it has been’’. The store prided itself on creating gourmet burgers for very discerning palettes, and those that needed a post-hard night out in the Octagon bars pick-me-up, or a hangover cure. ‘‘After 20 incredible years, the time has come to close our doors. ‘‘Twenty years of patties smashed, burgers of the month come and gone, and more people through our doors than we could ever count. ‘‘None of it would have meant a thing without the community that kept showing up, kept coming back, and made this place what it was. ‘‘Closing this chapter is bittersweet in every sense of the word.’’ It comes as established operators are finding economic conditions too difficult to operate under. Hospitality New Zealand Otago branch president Mark Scully said hospitality was an industry where people traditionally tended to come and go. But the departure of long-standing operators like Velvet Burger was concerning. Established operators were starting to find it ‘‘impossible’’ to continue in an economy with high fuel prices, a general cost-of-living crisis and investors getting increasingly nervous during an election year. Businesses were also getting squeezed by suppliers, and other big companies were laying down fuel surcharges. ‘‘If you’re the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker; your delivery costs are going up. ‘‘Freight is a very real part of the cost in our industry.’’ ‘‘Walking away’’ was becoming ‘‘the best option’’ for some hospitality business owners, he said. While trading conditions were becoming increasingly difficult, the country’s economic situation was also making it very difficult to sell the businesses on the market. ‘‘I think what’s happening is people are trying to sell, aren’t finding buyers, and the inevitable happens and they have to end up closing.’’
