The Nood store in Princes St closed just before 10am yesterday, soon after workers learned bricks and rusting roofing iron had crashed to a heavy heap in a disused room above.
Store manager Allison Stewart said Nood would not reopen until the damage had been assessed by a structural engineer and the property managers gave the all-clear.
The brick parapet must have fallen through the roof on Wednesday night and staff had no idea what had happened until alerted by the Otago Daily Times, she said.
The damaged area, which was about 10m long, was above the store's showroom. The floor appeared to have dropped several centimetres and the double-brick wall that stretched above looked to be on a lean, she said.
"Hopefully, things will be easily fixed and we will be back up and trading."
A structural engineer had assessed the property and an insurance assessor was due to examine the damage yesterday afternoon.
Property manager David Chronican said the damage was significant. He expected more of the wall would have to be removed, but did not believe it would be the death-knell for the building.
High winds buffeted the central city on Wednesday night, but it was too early to say if the weather or this month's earthquake contributed to the damage, he said.
Dunedin City Council chief building control officer Neil McLeod said he had no concerns about the building's safety. The room was unoccupied and Nood's ceiling was not damaged.
Even so, the owners had decided to keep the building closed while engineers assessed the damage and developed possible solutions, Mr McLeod said.
A Labour Department health and safety spokesman said a safety officer would also make inquiries.
Mr Chronican confirmed the Nood building and the neighbouring building whose wall had collapsed had the same owner.
Council records show they are owned by Philip Laing House Ltd, the company that owns Philip Laing House, the multi-storey office block in the same block.
