Nightquarter Helensvale founders tell of the colourful inspiration behind the popular night markets
Nightquarter’s founders were inspired by a picturesque Italian village, a buzzing Bangkok market and a clever Kiwi mall made of boxes. So they combined all three at Helensvale.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE story of NightQuarter had an unlikely beginning in the Italian village of Ari — a picturesque sliver of weathered homes and churches dotted mostly along a single road, perched on a ridge and winged by rambling vineyards and olive groves.
Ari is not one of the tourist districts of Abruzzo, a region east of Rome on the Adriatic coastline. The worn pavers of its Piazza Bucciante, near the town’s highest point, are overlooked by a clock tower, accented by a fountain and trod almost exclusively by local families.
Regional foods and wine are shared, guitars are played and local singers fill the warm night air with opera.
NIGHTQUARTER UNVEILS NEW SIDESHOW ALLEY
COAST USES UNIQUE LIVE MUSIC VENUE
It was there, staying with friends and enjoying a couple of bottles of Montepulciano red wine, that Michelle Christoe and her husband Ian Van der Woude began to wonder how they could bring this sort of community experience to the Gold Coast.
“We were travelling around Asia and Europe and were just watching. When you go through at night-time you see families going out together and enjoying good food and entertainment,” Ms Christoe said.
“Seeing how people interacted, that’s healthy, that’s how we used to be and somehow we’ve lost our way. You think about our society now, all our social media — we have a social problem, and I know people around Helensvale had this problem before we came, where people would stay home.”
Building on the idea, they drew more inspiration from a moveable mall made of shipping containers in Christchurch, named Re:START, which was set up in response to the catastrophic earthquake that struck the South Island city in February 2011.
Inspiration also came from the something-for-everyone night food markets, Asiatique, in Bangkok.
They pulled it all together and brought it to Helensvale.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE GOLD COAST BULLETIN FOR JUST $5 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS
SHOCK AS NIGHTQUARTER ANNOUNCES CLOSURE
“When you look at the demography in that 10-minute drive time, Helensvale really is mum, dad, two point five kids and a Holden Commodore,” Mr Van der Woude said.
“And that’s what NightQuarter is. It doesn’t pretend to be a Mercedes.
“There are plenty of Mercedes around — heaps of pubs with gaming, restaurants and takeaway joints but we really wanted to be something earthy and it found a niche in the market.”
Mr Van der Woude said the pair held hope another Gold Coast site would become available, so the concept could continue to grow.
“With us going, it probably falls back on the council to create more events, at the cost of ratepayers,” he said.
“They might have to do a Helensvale Alliance.”