Firms rally on red-zone limitLast updated 05:00 10/04/2012
The fringe of the central Christchurch red zone is a difficult place to run a business. In the first of a four-part series, Charlie Gates tours the southeast corner of the red zone to find out what it is like working on the edge.
When Bruce Thomas got back into his shop three months after the February 2011 earthquake, he thought it was all over.
The roof had caved in and rain had filled the model-train set that is the centrepiece of his store full of models, slot cars and train sets in St Asaph St.
It was dark and damp, and thousands of dollars of broken stock lay on the ground. Thomas thought this was the end of Ironhorse Hobbies.
"This place was a mess. My head went down and my shoulders went down. I thought, `I can never run this place again'," he said.
"Everything was on the floor, smashed and broken. There were three days of heavy rain. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
But, like many business owners on the edge of the red zone, Thomas screwed up his courage and got on with it.
The southeastern corner of the city centre has been transformed by the quakes, but many businesses have survived.
Alice in Videoland in Tuam St has recently reopened, along with the Les Mills gym in Cashel St and the Calendar Girls strip club in Hereford St.
In St Asaph St there is a surprising run of stores that have adapted and survived.
Just down the road from Ironhorse Hobbies, on the corner of Manchester St, is the Drawing Room art supplies store. It is the only building left on the intersection.
Drawing Room owner Paul Wyke also thought the February 2011 quake would be the end of his business. "I thought that was it. My first reaction was, `How are we going to get up after this?"'.
"It was just a matter of playing the waiting game. It was out of our control, but we realised there was light at the end of the tunnel.
"We feel confident. We have taken a good hard look at our business, as most people have had to do that since the quake. We are in a good position to move forward."
Business has not yet returned to pre-quake levels, but Wyke said he felt positive about the future of the city.
He points to construction of a new information technology hub on the other side of Manchester St as an indication of where his neighbourhood is heading.
The Drawing Room and Ironhorse Hobbies are glad of each other's company.
Thomas said the quake had forged a stronger community between surviving businesses. "We have all become a bit of family around here because we all needed other shops with us.
"We were all making sure everyone else is OK."
This community, and the ongoing support of customers, is what keeps Thomas and Wyke going.
Thomas said it had also helped that St Asaph St was now much busier. It is now one of the only routes that runs through the city centre.
There is the sense that these stores are intact fragments of the city we have lost.
Thomas takes great pride in that. "This place is part of Christchurch as far as I am concerned," he said.
"It is not a big powerful business, but we employ people. It is my living."
- © Fairfax NZ News
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NZ GETTING ON WITH IT: Ironhorse Hobbies owner Bruce Thomas
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May 17, 2012, 10:09:41 PM