Gritty becomes hip

Sleepy port suburb Ahuriri features in a New York Times slideshow, with six images of its wharf, the organic grocer Picada, beachfront restaurant Milk & Honey, the classic Ahuriri Café, and a hair salon come gallery. Ahuriri’s transition from seedy port to charming suburb has been decidedly slow. For decades the small seaside neighborhood on the northwest coast of Napier, was dominated by its wharf, cavernous warehouses left empty as the wool industry declined, and rough-and-tumble pubs frequented by local dock workers. But in 2, with the demolition of a vacant building and the construction of an apartment block, the area started to turn. A row of those wool warehouses on the quay was converted into bars and restaurants that these days heave with 2- and 3-something revellers on warm nights.