The fences and road cones are gone, and with the first stage of the Taupō Town Centre Transformation work on Tongariro Street finished, local businesses are already embracing the new layout.
Victoria’s Café, the Crafty Trout Brewery, and Lotus Thai restaurant are making the most of the new widened footpaths with a shared space – tentatively titled The Junction – that is ready now for some al fresco summer dining.
Council’s landscape architect Fraser Scott says it’s great to see businesses putting their stamp on the newly-constructed streetscapes.
“This is what the transformation project is all about, with the emphasis moving away from cars and back to people, and businesses bringing colour and life to our streets.”
Victoria Taylor of Victoria’s Café says her husband Grant Yates came up with The Junction name and all three businesses would be working on the details in the coming weeks.
“We’re keen to create a kind of mini version of Rotorua’s Eat Street,” Victoria said, “and between us we have a really nice mix on offer. We’re all loving that we have some extra space on the street and in the sun and we’ll be kicking it off with cocktails and tapas on New Year’s Eve.”
Crafty Trout Brewery owner Rebecca Draper-Kidd was also loving the widened footpaths.
“The extra space is great,” she said, “it’s going to be a lovely place to be in summer and we’ll be opening up from midday and serving into the evening. But it also means we are a lot more visible and that will be great.”
Noi Upathep of Lotus Thai Restaurant says it’s good to have extra space outside and the new area looks more attractive too. He expects the new buildouts will bring extra vibrancy to the northern end of Tongariro Street.
