The owners of a popular Wellington café are "devastated" after their landlords, Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh, ended their lease on Tuesday.
The Chocolate Fish Café has operated for 15 years at Shelly Bay under owners John and Penny Pennington.
Sir Peter Jackson and his partner Dame Fran Walsh bought the waterfront property in 2023 after a $500 million housing development was scrapped.
This week, the Penningtons were informed by a representative for Jackson and Walsh that their lease would end on January 31.
“This week, we were given the devastating blow, without warning… that they have decided to close our beloved café for good,” the café said on Facebook. “We don’t want to be forced to close. We don’t want to be shut down.”
Jackson and Walsh have invested heavily in the site since purchasing it two years ago and are understood to be planning further development, though details remain unclear.
Pennington told NZ Herald that the couple have long supported the café, and the news came as a shock.
"Despite our requests, we haven’t yet been given the opportunity to speak with Peter and Fran directly, and we are asking for that chance," the Facebook post said.
No alternative venue has been offered, and the 28 staff were informed of the closure this week.
In a statement, Wingnut PM, a company run by Jackson and Walsh, told 1News in “occupancy discussions” have been going on with the owners of Chocolate Fish Café since early 2024.
It said the the Shelly Bay development involves a “significant private contribution”, intended to “reinvigorate the city and provide a public amenity for all Wellingtonians to enjoy”.
“To deliver on the vision a complete refurbishment of the historic Submarine Barracks building that the Chocolate Fish Cafe presently occupies is necessary.
“These ongoing renovations make it impossible for the cafe to remain open beyond January. Wingnut PM had offered to support the owners so the cafe could remain open into the Summer period.”
Earlier this year, plans emerged for a museum, exhibition space and residential accommodation on the site. Yesterday, Jackson and Walsh also unveiled plans for a new specialist veterinary hospital in Miramar.
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