Located in the rebuilt former Empire Hotel on the corner of Greenstone Rd and Seddon St — State Highway 6 — at first glance the cafe looks to be closed, with tarpaulins covering the signs on both sides of the building facing the road.
That is because the council says the signs are illegal and exceed the 2sqm limit in the district plan.
Co-owner Rob Lawrence admits he made a mistake in going over the sign limit, after initially thinking he had everything over the line and ready for opening.
He was advised by letter on July 26 that he had been found in breach of the maximum area of signage on the exterior of the business, and that advertising signs on a neighbouring property also had to be taken down.
Mr Lawrence said his neighbour had decided to put the sign up in support of the café, so he understood why that one needed to come down.
The letter explained that a resource consent was required to lawfully undertake an activity that breaches a rule in the District Plan, and in the meantime asked that both cafe signs be removed ‘‘so that neither is visible from a public place or road’’.
As removal would damage the building, he applied for consent to increase the area of signs.
That would take a couple of weeks to get signed off, so in the meantime he wanted the public to know the cafe was open for business — even with the tarpaulins.
The road to get the business open in the first place took six years for both Mr Lawrence and co-owner Rowena Chapman, who converted the run-down historic hotel to the sparkling new cafe it is today, with two baristas on staff.
They even reached out to the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, which said the request to increase the area of signs from 2sqm to 3.1sqm was reasonable, as the business was located in an urban area with a posted speed limit of 50kmh and were not illuminated.
The Empire Cafe is open from 7am-2pm Wednesday to Friday, and 8am-4pm on weekends.
The council was approached for comment.
By Arianna Stewart
