Popular central Dunedin cafe and bakery Side On has announced it will close on December 22.
Its owners made the announcement on Instagram last night, apologising for things coming to "such an abrupt end" after more than a year of discussions with the Dunedin City Council about infrastructure upgrades that require a large new underground pipe through the bakery premises.
"We've accepted we need to close Side On and vacate the premises.
"We tried to find a new home, tried to explore other options, but it didn't pan out. It has ended up coming down to the wire," they said.
They were excited to see what the new year brought though, they said.
"More soon, but thanks for everything, it's been the best."
Hundreds of people have reacted to the post, many expressing their sadness at the cafe's closure.
In late October the business announced that "due to forces beyond its control" it was moving to a full bakery operation and no longer offering food off a menu.
Queues often form outside the Moray Pl cafe at the weekends and it is much loved by a regular CBD week-day clientele.
On December 4 the council posted on its website that it had been investigating options for replacing a partially collapsed watercourse pipe on Bath St between Lower Stuart St and Moray Pl.
Side On is located between Bath St and Moray Pl.
The council noted part of the pipe was beneath private property.
"It is in a deteriorated state and is passing stormwater, although we have installed a large pump on Bath St (near lower Stuart St) to reduce the reliance on this main."
It was also planning to replace other old and deteriorating stormwater, wastewater and water pipes in Bath St.
"Doing all this work together is the most cost-effective and least disruptive approach."
Realigning the partially collapsed watercourse, however, was particularly challenging from an engineering perspective, it said.
A Dunedin City Council spokesperson confirmed an agreement had been reached with the cafe to allow the stormwater upgrade to go ahead.
The work, which would include replacing three water mains and installing a new pipe, was expected to start in April next year and take more than a year.
"We’ve been closely monitoring the partially collapsed pipe while investigating options for the work, and a large pump installed on Bath Street (near lower Stuart Street) has reduced pressure on it in the meantime."
