Jaunted

Cashel used to be a big center of entertainment, nightlife and leisure with lots of shops, restaurants and several of the city’s major department stores all nearby. After the earthquake, though, many of these businesses were forced to shut down immediately due to structural concerns with the buildings, and most remain shuttered to this day. The new shipping containers of Project Re:Start are a way for several of these businesses to open their doors again…and provides the denizens of central Christchurch with a place to go and hang out—a leisure space that has been sorely lacking since last February.

We took a morning to check out the 27 shops populating 60 shipping containers, with more on the way. In fact, we even grabbed a coffee from a café stand that had opened up just that very morning. As we sipped our flat white, we perused the wares at various shops like men’s clothier 3 Wisemen, Kiwi fashion designer Trelise Cooper’s boutique, Christchurch institution Scorpio Books, and the iconic Ballantyne’s department store, plus Johnson’s gourmet food store, and Hunters and Collectors—where we were told simply everyone in Christchurch buys their jeans. You can find a full directory of shops here

The project remains small, and sandwiched in between restricted areas of the city, but even on the Tuesday mid-morning we were there, it was full of people out for a stroll and window-shopping. Plus, with more shops and cafes on the way, it only promises to get bigger and better, finally giving Christchurch residents a place to hang out in the city again.

Full disclosure: Eric Rosen traveled to New Zealand courtesy of Tourism New Zealand, but all opinions expressed are entirely his own.

[Photos: Eric Rosen for Jaunted]