Bringing Cathedral Square’s grand old lady back to life

A Christchurch team have launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring the old Chief Post Office in Cathedral Square, established in 1879, back to life.

They’re equity crowdfunding to raise up to $2 million to create a new destination that they hope will house nine businesses, and employ 40 to 50 people.

The aim is for The Grand to include an artisan French bakery, a people-focused food court experience, visitor information centre, iconic restaurants and bars and one of New Zealand’s largest outdoor plazas, says CEO and founder of The Grand Darin Rainbird.

“The Grand’s next life aims to be a world-class destination for our world-class city, and we believe this will be a part of the redevelopment of Christchurch’s future,” says Darin. “After two years of planning, exhaustive examination and lessons learned from successful overseas examples, we believe our business model will deliver on the promise of this location.”

Owner of the building Gordon Chamberlain has ensured the building is ready to host The Grand for a 25 year lease, in a structurally sound and visually restored state.

During the campaign The Grand team will host tours of the site. “This is to give people an opportunity to see the size of the space, and imagine the fit out in its grandeur,” says Darin.

People can invest as little as $50 via the New Zealand based crowdfunding platform PledgeMe. The minimum The Grand team would like to raise is $150,000 by Monday, 6 June 2022.

“Our vision is for The Grand to be a place that Canterbury locals are proud of, and a must-see destination for out-of-town visitors – a place where people will meet, greet, socialise and play,” says Darin.

Stage one is funded and will include a visitor information centre, the ‘1879 Bar and Restaurant’, an eatery/deli, The Daily Bloom Florist and The Ice Creamery.

Stage two includes the full fit out of the Artisan Bakery. Stage three is for the first-floor business fit out of Stamps Restaurant, a tasting experience, retail, pastry school, private dining and production kitchens.

The crowdfunding campaign will cover the costs of stages two and hopefully, three.

“The reason we’re doing the crowdfund is to get as many Cantabrians and New Zealanders involved as possible, in what will be an exciting destination for the city,” says Darin.

Find the campaign, view the video and read the full information memorandum at: https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/investments/513-the-grand-cathedral-square-limited