Restaurateur asks for more time in square

Surrounded by empty retail spaces, Raf Sirri’s Italian restaurant Babagatto has become an island in Nelson’s Morrison Square.

In June, Sirri and his neighbours learned they would have to move out of the central square, due to a cladding issue that rendered the buildings unsafe.

The buildings belong to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)’s Investment Fund, which acquired the Fashion Island complex in 2008 for $22.7 million.

The majority of the square’s 22 retailers ‒ including Columbus Coffee, Mariposa and Portmans ‒ have moved out in accordance with ACC’s end-of-year deadline.

But Babagatto has clung on, and Sirri has asked the government agency for more time, citing an engineering report he commissioned showing his restaurant is safe.

The report by Elevation Survey & Design said the unit occupied by the Italian restaurant in Building B had a different cladding fixture to the buildings on the other side of the square, and was well maintained.

However, ACC’s property and infrastructure portfolio manager Ian Purdy stood by the agency’s own report, which raised “significant concerns” about Building B.

“Without commenting on the veracity of the tenant’s report, it appears to be a non-invasive assessment and is limited to one store in the centre.”

ACC’s testing had delved deeper, removing some of the cladding to make an assessment, Purdy said.

“ACC has moisture content readings for locations in Building B that are in excess of the level considered “very high”. ACC has significant concerns about the dining lane [where Babagatto is located] and therefore it will be demolished.”

But Sirri, who had fielded calls from worried customers about the risk of dining in the restaurant, had faith in his report.

“We have loyal customers, this makes me sleep well knowing the building is safe.”

While Sirri has looked around the central city for a similar space, none quite matched up to Morrison Square, where he’s been for almost a decade.

His request to stay where he is until June – the end of his busy season – had not been granted by ACC, and Sirri was negotiating with the government agency through lawyers.

Although the square is now quiet, with little foot traffic, Babagatto was still doing a brisk trade, Sirri said. He expected this to step up in the coming weeks, as tourists found him online through his good reviews.

It was a bad time of year to move out, and Sirri felt ACC had treated him unfairly.

“I have been crying a lot, because I feel like I have been stabbed here, in the liver.”

Purdy said ACC’s “paramount concern” was the health and safety of tenants and members of the public at Morrison Square.

“No tenant will be permitted to stay beyond the termination date of their lease. ACC is determined to minimise the risk to the staff and customers when accessing the centre.”