Storied Ponsonby Rd restaurant SPQR is in liquidation . A landmark of the stylish strip since 1992 , diners have included everyone from Mick Jagger and Duran Duran to Sally Ridge, and long lunches - which often turned into late dinners - have shaped many memories for Aucklanders and visitors. Formerly a motorcycle repair shop, when SPQR opened in 1992 it quickly became the place to be - and be seen.
But now its doors are closed, with liquidators appointed to the business on Thursday and the restaurant no longer trading. Its legions of loyal customers - many of whom are New Zealand’s most recognisable names and faces - have been left shocked at the news. “My thoughts are with the SPQR team, both present and past, who looked after so many people so well and gave us great memories,” said Newstalk ZB’s Kerre Woodham , who noted she would be “one of thousands who are beyond sad at reading this news.
” “I was living in Brown St when the motorbike repair shop on Ponsonby Road was being transformed into SPQR and I think my daughter had the first fluffy there as a toddler. (She’s now in her 30s..
.!) “I met my (now ex) husband there one night when I popped in after finishing on the radio at midnight. Drinking a red wine, reading my book and the world’s most handsome Irishman just happened to be there,” Woodham said.
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