Some of our favourite eateries in Auckland are closing their doors. Definitely, these Auckland closures are a devastating blow for food enthusiasts.
Famous French eatery, La Cigale French café announced closure after 24 years of operation in Auckland. La Cigale is run by the Lind family. The Lind’s are well-known for bringing a French hub of culture and cuisine to Auckland.
Over three decades, La Cigale provided a deli serving French food and wine, a French clothing store, a casual bistro, a French warehouse with handmade goods and a kitchen shop. Interestingly, one of Auckland’s best food markets, La Cigale Farmers Market, was birthed from this café.
La Cigale’s inspiration came from the Lind’s holiday to France in 1997. Certainly, it proved successful over the years. In a heartfelt Instagram post to their 17.2k followers, Elizabeth Lind stated: ”Mike and I have now decided that it is time to start a new era in our lives, we will be closing down La Cigale early next year as our lease comes to an end.”
Indeed, social media users expressed their sadness at the closure. However, customers can still purchase takeaway goods and hot drinks in the run up to Christmas.
Subsequently, an iconic all-you-can-eat buffet at Paradise discreetly shut their doors during lockdown. The famous buffet was another cult favourite on Sandringham Road. Equally, you only paid $20 to eat as much Indian Fusion food as desired.
Prior to restrictions, the buffet served between 400 to 500 customers a day, with queues down the street before opening times. In fact, customers adored Paradise’s renowned naan bread, curries, pizzas and more Indian cuisine mixed with global flavours.
Furthermore, owner Mohammed said the closure was due to staffing problems. Consequently, we believe there might be an opportunity to see this much-loved buffet appear in the future of Auckland’s hospitality.
These Auckland closures are just two of a range of eateries that have closed in recent months. Indeed, the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality sector has been severe globally. Additionally, it played a crucial role in the closure of many businesses in New Zealand.