Owner's hope for town's bright future after Wellington restaurant's closure

Karen Lee, the owner of The Walnut in Market Square, has called time on her business to spend more time with her family.

The Walnut first opened on Tan Bank in 2019, before moving to the centre of Wellington two years ago. The restaurant served breakfast, lunch and dinner; cocktails and a popular bottomless brunch.

Karen has spoken of her pride at what she has achieved since first opening a restaurant and praised her fellow businesses who, she says, have helped make Wellington a go-to place for a whole host of cuisine.

She said she had taken a very emotional decision to close the doors on her business, saying: "It is crippling to make the decision really because it's four years of my life."

But she added: "I take a lot of pride. When I first did some market research into opening a business, a few people said it was an impossible task to open a restaurant in Wellington.

"But we built up a reputation and regulars have an emotional attachment to The Walnut. We also got to a point where 50 per cent of trade coming through the door was new business.

"I achieved it with a fantastic team, an incredible group of predominantly young people and they have been a force to be reckoned with.

"They have gone above and beyond on every occasion for me and that alone is a great loss for me in the sense that I won't be working directly them anymore."

But she said the time was right to leave the business.

"As a small business, Covid was hard," she said. "In hospitality, many had to, not just close, but change model to remain competitive and compliant.

"As businesses, we all worked really hard and it's not been without its war wounds. It can be a tough one to navigate for people in the industry.

"From my point of view, trying to be a parent and dealing with other family matters, it wasn't going to work any longer for me, sadly.

"I have worked in hospitality full time since my son was five and he's now 15.

"When you constantly spend more time with your work colleagues than with your family, I felt something needed to alter. That's what I have done it for in the main as he's my main priority."

Although no-one is going to take the Walnut on, Karen says she hopes a food business takes on the premises.

"I would have loved to see the business continue," she said. "But if there are other people out there with their own ideas then that's got to be a good resolution to the situation.

"I'd like to see another food business remain in Wellington. I'm sure there are people out there who will want to put their own stamp on something rather than continue and evolve an existing business.

"Hopefully it continues as a restaurant in some shape or form and it will be of a quality that the town is demanding now from its food businesses.

"There are a lot of people trying to work together to make the town vibrant and I have loved being a part of that. There are a lot of food destinations who have helped change the narrative of Wellington so it's no longer just a shopping centre."