Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said restaurants and cafes could reopen under Alert Level 2, provided they followed social distancing rules and took bookings of no more than 10 people.
Bars will not be able to reopen until May 21, unless they offered substantial meals to customers as per Easter and Anzac Day trading rules.
Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said yesterday’s announcement was "obviously great news" but was "really confusing".
She would be "strongly advocating" for further relaxed regulations if establishments could offer a safe environment to dine in.
"We have sent some urgent requests through to Government - we are working on the guidelines overnight. We are confident the clarity will come tomorrow, because New Zealand needs clarity.
"We’re the secret to the recovery."
Yesterday’s news was "pretty gutting" for Fork and Tap owner Jeannie Crawford, in Arrowtown.
She had been "excited" to open the doors this week but said she would delay until May 21.
"It would be an anti-climax for our loyal locals if we were running as a restaurant only and we would constantly have to explain the situation. It’s hard enough doing that on the two days of Easter trading."
Popular central Queenstown spots The Fat Lamb, Winnies Gourmet Pizza Bar and the Ballarat Trading Co were all due to reopen.
Managing director Mike Burgess said the restrictions were "a little disappointing", but he accepted the Prime Minister’s reasoning.
Queenstown-Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said it would take bars time to figure out how they operated under the new rules and was "sure they will be pleased to open their businesses again" and see domestic travel, regardless of the extra week’s delay.
Dunedin’s Stuart St Macs BrewBar owner Mark Fraser said he was still looking into whether he could operate as a food-focused establishment.
"We’re saying ... how can we work within the guidelines and reopen?" he said.
The Craic Irish Tavern owner Claire Grenfell said it would have been "lovely" to reopen on Thursday to have the coming weekend "in the bag", but she would not decide whether to reopen early as a food-focused establishment until this morning.
Invercargill licensing trust chief executive Chris Ramsay said half of their businesses would be affected by the restrictions on bars.
"It is pretty disappointing it is another week without revenue in a key part of our business mix."
ILT forecast operating losses for April, May and June, and Mr Ramsay said it was key to bring commercial flights back into the city.
