Kiwi Grille restaurant closes

[Joe]

Hi all,

Some of you may remember this story from about two years ago. I can't find the posts I made back then, but, in April 2004, Hayley was in Massachusetts to attend the official opening of a NZ-themed restaurant called the Kiwi Grille. Due to rising debt, the owner of the restaurant has decided to close down last month.

Text below from New Zealand Herald 14th Jan. 2006

Kiwi lights go out in Massachusetts

A high-profile restaurant trading on New Zealand foods and wines in the United States - the Kiwi Grille at Newburyport, Massachusetts - has closed its doors after less than two years of operation.

The restaurant owner, New Zealander Bruce deMustchine, did not return calls, said the Newburyport Daily News.

Mr deMustchine, formerly from Hawkes Bay, said a few months after opening that the restaurant served 10,000 customers in its first eight weeks and was so successful he was considering expanding to other American cities.

The restaurant's official opening was attended by Christchurch singer Hayley Westenra.

The North American office of Investment NZ, an arm of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, sought to leverage attention on New Zealand from the upmarket restaurant.

New Zealand's ambassador to Washington, John Wood, even suggested it could spur the creation of a "free trade zone" for New Zealand in Newburyport, while state lawmakers declared a statewide "New Zealand Day".

Elected officials and bureaucrats at the state legislature were fed Kiwi Grille food at the event, and state senator Steve Baddour used it to promote discussion of a free trade zone in Newburyport.

The restaurant was expected to sell at least $US1.5 million ($2.2 million) in NZ food and drink products annually.

The restaurant's actual sales figures have not been disclosed, but at the end, building owner Doug Molin said the Kiwi Grille was overwhelmed by debt from renovating the 157-year-old former church.

"It was a hard decision, but in the end it was the only decision that the family could make," he told the Daily News.

The restaurant opened in April 2004 following months of delays caused by costly and time-consuming renovations.

- NZPA

[stevemacdonald]

I remember this story from a few years ago. I thought it was a strange name for a restaurant. Not everyone in the US knows that "Kiwi" means someone from New Zealand. In fact, most of us know only about the fruit, the bird and the boot polish. So I would imagine then that a "Kiwi Grille" would conjure up all sorts of odd associations for potential diners. Now I wonder, does grilled kiwi taste anything like grilled chicken?

[Joe]

Hi all,

Fortunately the Kiwi Grille's website is still up. Here's their menu page here.

[stevemacdonald]

Thanks, Joe. And what a website that was!

I clicked on Kiwi Grille's "50 facts about NZ" page and here's what I learned:


50 Facts About New Zealand…

New Zealanders are the first citizens in the world to greet each morning. Here are 50 other facts [not ranked in any order of importance] that will help you build a working knowledge about New Zealand so you can come prepared to experience the Kiwi - and perhaps quiz the staff.

New Zealand is part of the continent of Australasia

New Zealand is an island nation consisting of three main islands - North Island, South Island and Stewart Island.

It is nearly 2,000 kilometers/1,243 miles from Australia, to the east, and 14,503 kms/9,012 miles from Newburyport.

New Zealand is over 1,600 kilometers long (995 miles), and its widest part is 450 kilometers (280 miles).

The climate ranges from being like Maine in the Southern tip to sub-tropical in the Northern tip.

Our winter is their summer and their summer is our winter.

The first East Polynesians to arrive in Aotearoa evolved into the Classical Maori with whom Europeans first made contact in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Aotearoa means "land of the long white cloud."

Maoris make up 15% of the total NZ population.

The name "Ma¯ori" originally meant "the local people", or "the original people".

Total population of New Zealand is 4 million.

New Zealand is a democratic and independent nation within the British Commonwealth.

The current Prime Minister of New Zealand is Helen Clark

Wellington is the Capital of New Zealand on the southern tip of North Island.

Auckland is the largest city with 1.2 million people located in the northern region of North Island.

Milford Sound (actually a fiord) is a major tourist spot on South Island.

The Mountains in South Island are known as the Southern Alps.

Mount Cook in South Island, is the highest mountain in New Zealand (3,754 meters/12,320 ft.).

The major city of South Island is Christchurch followed by Dunedin.

Currency is the New Zealand dollar: NZ$1 equals US 60 + cents.

There are 10 times as many sheep as people (approximately 39.5 million sheep).

New Zealand uses the metric system.

New Zealand is 17 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time e.g. 6:00 p.m. EST Friday is 11 a.m. Saturday in New Zealand.

Kiwi is the nickname for New Zealanders

The Kiwi is a rare, flightless bird found only in NZ.

The Kiwifruit, often called a 'kiwi' is of Chinese origin, but grows throughout New Zealand. [Originally called a 'Chinese Gooseberry' New Zealanders developed it into a larger fruit and started to export it and named it 'Kiwifruit' to associate it with New Zealand.]

A "pakeha" is Maori for a New Zealander of European descent.

Hawke's Bay is a major wine growing region on North Island.

Sileni Estates is a Hawke's Bay winery that provides us with our house wines.

There are over 60 wineries in Hawke's Bay Wine Country.

The Lord of the Rings was filmed all over NZ and is a total NZ production.

A nick name for NZ is "The Shakey Isles" thanks to the earthquakes - most of which go largely un-noticed by the natives.

Air New Zealand is the national airline and the airline of choice for our sweepstake.

New Zealanders drive on the left.

In NZ "Entrées" are Appetizers and "Main Courses" are "Entrées".

New Zealanders have their own form of English. A sampling [See more below]:
Banger: sausage. Choc-a-block: full to overflowing. Dunny: toilet, bathroom, lavatory. "Flip a u-ey": "Take a U-turn." Jumper: woollen sweater. Rattle your dags: hurry up; get a move on. Sarnie: sandwich. Wop-wop: out of the way location.

Three sports dominate New Zealand: Rugby Football, Cricket and Boating.

"All Blacks" is the name of the national rugby team - regularly world champions. Important note: Rugby is one of the most popular and fastest growing sports in the world. There are rugby leagues throughout the US for men and women.

"Black Caps" is the men's national cricket team.

"White Ferns" is the women's national cricket team.

"Silver Ferns" is the top women's netball team.

"Black Soxs" won the world softball championship in 2003.

Auckland has the highest number of boats per capita in the world.

New Zealand has more golf courses per capita of population than any other country in the world, (400 golf courses to 3.8 million people.)

The fern leaf in our logo is a representation of the "ponga" which is the Maori name for one of New Zealand's native tree ferns, the Silver Fern.

NZ has the oldest reptile - the tuatara. Its relatives died about 60 million years ago.

NZ'er Edmund Hillary was the first person to climb Mt Everest

NZ invented bungee jumping.

New Zealand has won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other nation.

The "loo" is the rest room.

An additional sampling of a New Zealander's English:

Bach (ba-t-ch): small holiday home.

Beaut: great; good fun as in "that'll be beaut mate".

Bit of a dag: hard case; comedian; joker.

Biscuit: cookie.

Bloke: usually a man, and often used when referring to a stranger.

Bonnet: car hood.

Chuffed: pleased as in "he was dead chuffed."

Colly wobbles: a feeling of nausea usually associated with nervousness as in "bungee jumping gave me a dose of the colly wobbles."

Corker: very good.

Fortnight: two consecutive weeks, derived from 14 days (nights).

Fish and chips: Fish and French fries.

Good on ya, mate!: congratulations, well done.

Lorry: truck.

Mate: buddie (common term, and can be used even with strangers).

Nought: zero.

Piker: one who gives up easily.

Prang: minor or major vehicle accident.

You ain't wrong: that's right, yes.

[Richard]

Thanks for the fascinating post, Steve!

Reading the list of New Zealand English words and phrases, I notice the majority of them are in common usage here in the UK. No wonder I always enjoy talking to Hayley, because we understand each other! Don't worry, I like talking to Americans too and I know quite a few of your expressions. Is tap-dancing called faucet-dancing in the USA? i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[Caitlin]

haha no Richard, tap dancing is still called tap dancing. Maybe I should start calling it faucet dancing and see people's reactions. However I don't think the majority would get it unless they have knowledge of the difference in the languages. =D

<3 Caite