In the Marewa suburb of Napier, a nine-month infrastructure project has quietly dismantled what a family spent years building. Hetal Shastri, owner of the League Park Superette, has sold his cars, fallen behind on his lease, and now faces bankruptcy — not through mismanagement, but through proximity to a road closure that outlasted his reserves. His story sits within a familiar tension of modern civic life: the long-term good of infrastructure improvement colliding with the immediate fragility of small enterprise, raising the enduring question of who bears the cost when progress takes longer t
Napier superette owner faces bankruptcy after nine months of roadworks
Small business owner faces potential bankruptcy and family financial stress; two neighboring businesses also experiencing severe income losses threatening their viability.
I haven't paid my lease for two months. My supplier stopped delivering.
Mark
So Shastri has been running this superette for years, and nine months of roadworks have nearly destroyed it. What's the actual financial picture here?
Mimi
He's sold both family cars to pay mortgage arrears. He's two months behind on his lease. A supplier has cut him off because of unpaid bills. His credit is already damaged. It's not abstract—his family's income is gone.
Luke
But we should be clear: we don't have his actual revenue figures or profit margins. We know his takings dropped, we know he's in arrears, but we don't know the baseline or how much of his business model depended on foot traffic versus other factors.
Mimi
Fair point. But the neighboring businesses give us a sense of scale. Fish Supply lost about $2,000 a week. The bakery had a significant drop. These aren't isolated complaints.
Mark
Why did the roadworks take so long? Was it really just the weather?
Mimi
The council says wet weather caused repeated delays. Shastri disputes that—he says he doesn't recall heavy rain. The project also had to maintain northbound traffic the whole time, which complicated the work.
Luke
So we have the council's explanation and Shastri's skepticism, but we don't have independent data on rainfall or a detailed project timeline. We know it took longer than planned, but the reasons are contested.
Mark
And now the road reopens September 21. Does that solve the problem?
Mimi
Shastri doesn't think so. He says recovery will take months even after customers can access the shop again. The damage is already done to his credit, his relationships with suppliers, his family's stability.
Luke
That's his forecast, and it's probably realistic. But we also don't know if the council will offer any support to affected businesses, or if there's any mechanism for that. The story doesn't address it.
Mark
So what's left unresolved?
Mimi
Whether these three businesses survive, whether the council takes any responsibility for the impact, and whether there's a pattern here that should change how councils manage infrastructure projects in commercial areas.
Luke
And whether nine months is actually unusually long for this type of work, or whether it's standard. We don't have that context.
El Pulso
- Nine months of restricted access to Taradale Road has strangled customer flow so severely that Shastri can no longer pay his suppliers, his lease, or his mortgage.
- Two neighbouring businesses — a fish supply shop and a bakery — are suffering the same collapse in income, suggesting the damage extends well beyond one unlucky operator.
- The council acknowledges the disruption and points to wet weather delays, but Shastri disputes the explanation and says repeated contact with the council has yielded little tangible relief.
- Taradale Road is scheduled to reopen to two-way traffic on September 21, but Shastri warns that reopening the road will not reopen his financial situation — recovery, if it comes, will take months more.
- A new full road closure for culvert work on Herrick Street looms, raising fears that the disruption is not yet over even as the headline milestone approaches.
In the Marewa suburb of Napier, a nine-month infrastructure project has quietly dismantled what a family spent years building. Hetal Shastri, owner of the League Park Superette, has sold his cars, fallen behind on his lease, and now faces bankruptcy — not through mismanagement, but through proximity to a road closure that outlasted his reserves. His story sits within a familiar tension of modern civic life: the long-term good of infrastructure improvement colliding with the immediate fragility of small enterprise, raising the enduring question of who bears the cost when progress takes longer than promised.
Hetal Shastri has built the League Park Superette in Marewa into his family's livelihood over many years. But since a southbound lane closure on Taradale Road began in December, that livelihood has been steadily dismantled. Nine months on, he has sold both family cars to cover mortgage arrears, fallen two months behind on his lease, and lost a key supplier who stopped delivering over unpaid invoices. He now faces the real possibility of bankruptcy.
"After operating our business for many years, we are now at the point where we are genuinely concerned that we may not be able to continue trading," Shastri said. He has contacted the council repeatedly, seeking support and pushing back against the explanation that wet weather caused the delays. "I don't recall there being lots of rain," he said. He accepts that infrastructure work must happen — but nine months, he argues, is too long to absorb without help.
His neighbours are in similar straits. Chiv Tan at League Park Fish Supply has lost around $2,000 in weekly takings since January. Pheanrith Seng at Century Bakery & Cafe describes a significant collapse in income. All three businesses share the same stretch of road, and all three have been hollowed out by the same project.
The council acknowledged the real impact of the lane closure and noted that maintaining northbound traffic throughout — a key corridor requirement — meant complex, evolving traffic management. The road is set to reopen to two-way traffic on September 21, which the council describes as a significant milestone. A further culvert upgrade beneath Herrick Street will require a full road closure, though the council says this will ultimately speed completion.
For Shastri, the milestone may arrive too late to matter. His credit history has already been affected, financing will be harder to secure, and the stress has taken a toll on his family. Even if customers return when the road reopens, he fears the months required to rebuild will outlast what little resilience he has left.
Hetal Shastri has owned the League Park Superette in Marewa for years, watching it grow into his family's primary income. Nine months into roadworks on Taradale Road, he is now staring at bankruptcy. The southbound lane closure that began in December has choked off customer access so severely that he has sold both family cars to cover mortgage arrears and fallen two months behind on his lease. One of his main suppliers has stopped delivering because of unpaid invoices. The bills keep coming regardless.
"After operating our business for many years, we are now at the point where we are genuinely concerned that we may not be able to continue trading and could face bankruptcy," Shastri said. He has contacted the council repeatedly, asking for help and explaining that this is no longer an inconvenience—it is a threat to his family's livelihood. He understands that roadworks must happen. He understands that delays occur. But nine months, he says, is too long. "I don't recall there being lots of rain," he added, pushing back against the council's explanation that wet weather repeatedly extended the timeline.
Shastri is not alone. Chiv Tan, who owns League Park Fish Supply next door, has seen his weekly takings drop by about $2,000 since January. Pheanrith Seng, who runs Century Bakery & Cafe nearby, has experienced what he describes as a significant collapse in income. All three businesses occupy the same stretch of road, all three have been hollowed out by the same construction project, and all three are now fighting to stay open.
The Taradale Road and Herrick Street Culvert Upgrade Project has indeed taken longer than planned. A council spokesperson acknowledged the frustration businesses have endured and the real impact the lane closure has had on both customer access and daily operations. The project required maintaining northbound traffic throughout construction—a key transport corridor cannot simply close—which meant multiple traffic management changes as work progressed. Wet weather caused repeated delays. On September 21, the road is scheduled to reopen to two-way traffic, marking what the council calls a significant milestone.
But Shastri fears the damage is already done. Even if customers return once the road reopens, recovery will take months. The financial strain has already marked his credit history, making it harder to obtain financing in the near term. The stress has weighed on his family. The council has also begun upsizing the culvert beneath Herrick Street, which requires a full road closure—more disruption, though the council says this will actually accelerate completion. For Shastri and his neighbors, the question now is whether their businesses can survive long enough to benefit from whatever recovery might follow.
Citas Notables
After operating our business for many years, we are now at the point where we are genuinely concerned that we may not be able to continue trading and could face bankruptcy.— Hetal Shastri, League Park Superette owner
The work has been delayed so much. It will take months to recover even if we get our customers back.— Hetal Shastri
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