Delays upset restaurant

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 6

Delays upset restaurant

' City Council delays are upsetting the management and staff of Christchurch Airport food and liquor con-cession-holder, Restaurant Horizon Ltd.

The company has held the concessions for the last 15 years, but when they were put up for tender earlier, this year the company lost them to two separate groups.

The lease was to expire at the end of this month, but because the council allegedly failed to advertise the tenders by . the deadline ; of March 31, Restaurant Horizon, Ltd, has applied for an extension to its lease. 5 -However, the council’s public’ utilities committee his not yet supplied a new expiry date, even though the council’s, solicitors have given Restaurant Horizon written assurances that the council was prepared to make up for its deficiency in not complying with the ten-dering-deadline.

Mr M. G. Teague, secretary of Restaurant Horizon, said that the matter should be settled by internal arbitration. He said he was concerned about the 70 staff whose job security had been jeopardised by the council. The secretary of the Canterbury Hotel Workers’ Union, Mr G. D. Harding, said that the union was also concerned. Most of the staff are em ; ployed in the restaurant, cafeteria, and confectionery shop. Only about six are bar staff, and of these three work part time. Mr Teague said that the sale of stock and plant, which ‘ he estimated was worth $lOO,OOO, was written into the lease, but he had not received any assurance that Restaurant Horizon, Ltd, would be paid. He said that the council sometimes took up to four weeks to answer ; letters. Restaurant

Horizon deserved to be treated better after 15 years of service, i ” ! . The successful tenderers were Messrs White, Davidson, and Williams for the food concession, and Messrs W. J. Butterfield and R. E. Sanson for the liquor concession. A spokesman for White, Davidson, and Williams said that he could not give any assurances on jobs, because he did not know details of the staff ratio and other facts, and because possession had not formally passed into -the new concessionholder’s hands. “We are merely the successful. tenderer,” the spokesman said. “We are waiting for the council to tell us v.hat day we take over.” When the time came, everything possible would be done to ensure that everybody was satisfied..

Mr Butterfield said that the question of staff had not yet been considered, because he had not received any assurance on when he and Mr Sanson could take over.

. “At present we are proceeding on the basis of October 1, as per the tender document,” he said. He wanted no part in the dispute between the council and Restaurant Horizon.

On the. question of stock, Mr Butterfield said that as soon as he was notified of his successful tender, he had got in touch with Mr Teague on July 29 about the purchase of Restaurant Horizon’s plant and fittings, and asked Mr Teague to nominate a valuer, as in the |icence.

“He has not yet done so.”' The chairman of the council’s public utilities committee, Cr M. R. Carter, said that he could not comment, becai.se the matter had been in committee.