The Bumpy Voyage Of Dunedin's Arc

Written on the blackboard above the bar at Arc Cafe, a chalk statement of philosophy used to read: "Arc Cafe is a not-for-profit trust that exists to make Dunedin a better place."

When 30-year hospitality veteran Lindsay McKinney (55) walked in off High St to take control of the cafe last week, the first order of the day was to have the idealistic mission statement rubbed out.

It was an act of striking symbolism.

"It [Arc] cannot live if it's a not-for-profit organisation," Mr McKinney told the Otago Daily Times in an interview. "It certainly had to go."

The not-for-profit philosophy had failed Arc in spectacular fashion. By 2002, just two years after its formation, the Arc Cafe Trust faced debts totalling $267,000. Last week, with creditors, supporters, staff and the Inland Revenue Department all still owed money, the trust folded.

In its place came Arc Cafe Ltd, a new, private company comprising former trustees and other associates of Arc.

The company's first act was to lease the management of the cafe to Mr McKinney and business partner Alan Pauley, co-owner/operators of the Dunedin Catering Company and a stable of venues around Dunedin, including Irish bar Dicey O'Rileys and Heff 's Hotel.

After an uncertain 24-hour wait, Arc's doors again opened to the public on Friday last week, just in time for the launch of the Dunedin Fringe Festival that day.

On the surface, it appeared little had changed — live bands were booked, vegetarian food was still being served and the ambient rustling of the patrons and their children remained.

Behind the scenes, however, the beans were already being counted more closely. Staff were on temporary two-week, minimum-wage contracts and the price of beer had changed.

The changes are stage one of the venue's rebirth, according to Mr McKinney. The public front will remain, but he and Mr Pauley are determined to work "as long as it takes" to restore Arc's balance sheets to the black.

"The days of flying by the seat of their pants are gone," he said.

It had all begun so promisingly for Arc, when in 1997 the venue was launched by Dunedin man Elliot Young and a circle of friends and willing helpers, all prepared to muck in to get the job done.

Mr Young now lives in Montreal, Canada. In an email, he said the venue was designed as a social hub, "something like a big living-room".

"I wanted to create a space that was a hub for good things happening in the community; a place conducive to positive change in all kinds of ways for different people. We all felt there was a need for a place like that."

Former trustee and Dunedin music-scene stalwart Stephen Kilroy, who was among those involved from the earliest days, said the project had begun as something of a "social experiment".

"Elliot said he set it up as a social experiment to see if people worked effectively collectively together... It was very much done on volunteer labour. They were just working there for about two or three weeks beforehand, just absolutely going for it."

Those behind the venue claimed early success with the release of Arc's first foray into the recording industry at the beginning of 1998. Music of Dunedin was an 18-track CD collection of local talent recorded inside the cafe over two weeks, during a refit of the venue the previous Christmas.

The first of 21 CDs released by what would become the Arclife recording label, Music of Dunedin sold 1000 copies and attracted positive reviews. Symptomatic of the rapidly growing culture surrounding Arc, the bands recorded their tracks for free, eager for the promotion and to help the cafe develop, Mr Kilroy said.

"Everyone knew what Arc was. It was the place run by not-ordinary business standards... We ran it in another way from how places are normally run," he said.

The cafe quickly became a place for Dunedin musicians and other artists to meet and network, recruiting everyone from sound engineers to vocalists for bands and organising gigs, Mr Kilroy said.

"They all gravitated towards Arc because it became a friendly meeting place... It became like a clubroom for Dunedin artists and culture."

Local bands Mestar, Suka, and Cloudboy were among those to benefit from the support of Arc and the developing Arclife studio, which was made available for free as part of the cafe's vision of supporting local artists.