A new eat street with an international flavour is emerging in the Grey Lynn shops.
“This vibrant area is becoming somewhere to go for a great night out,” says GLBA chairperson Jennifer Northover. “ In 2012 the GLBA developed a plan for these shops and it’s wonderful seeing our vision starting to come to life. We don’t want the area to lose its colour and character but it’s lovely to see families coming to dine at these new eateries.”
The arrival of Kokako cafe in 2012 was a tipping point for the reinvigoration of the shops. Kokako Organic Coffee managing director Mike Murphy says he was drawn to the shops as an ideal location to re-establish a flagship site for the brand. The popular cafe draws both locals and people from outside the area.
Mike was one of the local business owners who worked with the Grey Lynn Business Association to create a plan for the future development of the shops. His visionary approach helped establish a forward-thinking strategy that is gradually coming to fruition.
Other recent additions to the shops include Pocket Bar, Tiger Burger, Ubud Bali and The Vegan Shop. As with Kokako, these are proving popular with locals and acting as a drawcard for customers from other parts of the city. Pocket Bar & Kitchen is located at the back of the former ASB Bank building, with its entrance on Tuarangi Road.
The architecturally-designed space combines old and new, offering two contrasting areas: a dark and moody bar or a light and bright conservatory-style space, with plenty of greenery, that flows outdoors to a small garden bar. The main bank building has been gutted and is being used to host pop-up functions. Watch this space for its future development as a new permanent hospo offering in the ‘hood.
Tiger Burger has a focus on Korean-inspired fast food. Judging by its popularity, this niche market was just waiting to be filled by its enterprising owners. The humble burger proves to be the ideal vessel for the flavours of Korean cuisine. With a slick black and white fit-out, this burger joint is another design-savvy addition to the shops.
Adding more Asian-inpired flavours to the area is one of the most recent arrivals, Ubud Bali, a small Indonesian cafe and takeaway. “Grey Lynn is a cultural melting pot and it’s good to see the cafes and restaurants reflecting that,” says Jennifer. “These shops have an exciting future ahead of them.”