Mr Parkinson and his family moved to Auckland a month ago to spend time with wider family and restore health.
Other staff will operate the restaurant until the end of August.
"It has been a tough run, huge highs, devastating lows and it’s all taken its toll on my mental and physical health," Mr Parkinson told the Otago Daily Times.
Mr Parkinson and his wife, Larissa, established Ode in 2017, with more than a decade of experience working for top New Zealand and Australian chefs.
He said the venture started quietly, with just four bookings on opening night.
After seeking advice from marketing adviser Arna Craig and tweaking a few things, Ode’s reputation quickly grew.
In 2018 and 2019 Ode won Cuisine Good Food Awards and received one "Hat", the southern hemisphere equivalent of one Michelin star.
A destructive fire in 2019 closed the restaurant for a time.
Soon after the successful relaunch, Mr and Mrs Parkinson were knocked again when a key employment relationship broke down.
They were back on their feet in 2020, but the Covid-19 lockdown forced another closure, adding more pressure to the couple’s circumstances.
The hospitality industry had taken a huge hit from Covid, tension levels across the industry were high, other closures were prevalent and staff shortages were worsening by the day as workers transferred to other jobs or struggled to renew visas, Mr Parkinson said.
He said he paid staff a living wage but had become "increasingly embarrassed" about what he could pay and some weeks would not pay himself.
Mr Parkinson said practical and financial assistance from his landlord, Kevin King, had got him through.
"Kevin is the greatest and nicest landlord I have ever come across ... He’s the sort of landlord who gives you hugs," he said.
But events had taken their toll and Mr Parkinson decided he had to let the lease go.
Initially, he had hoped to move Ode to another location but his anxiety was crippling and he needed to de-stress.
He would be returning to Wanaka on August 9 to complete a film project and wind things up.
The film would be a "postmortem release", because he wanted to leave something behind that told the real story of how tough the hospitality industry could be.
Mr Parkinson said the closure would affect up to 10 people on the payroll and local suppliers.
- Marjorie Cook
