Northeast Valley appears to be undergoing a commercial resurgence as new businesses set up over the coming months.
Black's greengrocer has recently opened in the area to provide a range of organic produce, a German-style beer garden will offer a chance for residents to wet their whistle, and an interior design store opening this week promises to provide what's needed to turn a house into a home.
The spate of new businesses emerging in the valley suggests something of a commercial renaissance for the area.
Trish Dryden, who grew up in the valley, is owner and operator of Wallace Design, an interior design company on North Rd. She intends to open her shop this week, and was pleased to see the valley take off again.
She hoped the valley could be a part of a Dunedin business resurgence akin to that experienced by Christchurch, where retail ‘‘hubs'' in outer suburbs have established themselves as the city has been rebuilt after earthquakes.
‘‘What's happened is they've got all these destination places where people go now [such as] Rangiora and Kaiapoi and I would really like to see the valley as a destination area for people to come to.''
Mrs Dryden said 201 North Rd where her store is now located had an interesting history, as a several retailers had tried their luck.
‘‘It used to originally be a butcher's shop and then it became Gray's Art Studio and it's been vacant for a couple of years.''
After working on the Christchurch rebuild, Mrs Dryden said she decided it was time to come home. Having acquired a qualification in interior design, Mrs Dryden established Wallace Design (named after her pet West Highland terrier, Wallace) to sell colour selections, blinds, flooring and ‘‘all that's needed to turn a house into a home''.
A little further down the road, construction is under way on a German-style beer garden and bistro offering a range of international beers and cake, coffee and general cafe fare.
Proprietor Simon Tiefenbach said he hoped the business would cater to all tastes.
‘‘We want an environment that's for everyone.''
Construction of the new restaurant is scheduled to be completed in April. The site most recently housed a Chinese dumpling restaurant and, before that, was home to the Mannequin cafe and bar.
Simon's bistro and beer garden will offer a range of international beers and a wide selection of comestibles. Mr Tiefenbach said he had done a lot of work to get the place into order.
‘‘We have to spend quite a bit of money to make it nice.''
Northeast Valley was a great place to live and the arrival of a mixture of people into the area had created opportunities for businesses to thrive, he said.
‘‘It's just ready for new things because of the variety of people who live here in the valley.''
Mr Tiefenbach said the costs of doing business in Northeast Valley could be a factor in the area's resurgence, because it was competitive, compared with central city Dunedin.
‘‘If you go to the centre of town, say George St, everything is expensive.''
- by Joshua Riddiford
