When Yusuf Corten was looking to start a new business, he travelled all over New Zealand to find the ideal spot. He chose Nelson.

“I thought it would be a good place to raise a family and a good place to open a business,” he says.

Opening Kebab Kitchen in Bridge Street in 2017, Yusuf has become well-known for the fresh, flavourful food he serves, and his generosity in providing food to those in need.
Yusuf is hopeful that the Bridge to Better project will help bring energy and life back to the city.

"I feel like other places like Richmond and Picton have gone ahead, and Nelson has been left behind."

“A number of significant businesses have closed down or moved away, and buildings are empty. I’ve counted recently and there are over 20 empty shops in the inner city – and around half of them in Bridge Street alone. When a high-profile tenant leaves it has a negative flow-on impact on the businesses that are left,” Yusuf says.
New Zealand is the tenth country that Yusuf has lived and worked in, and he’s brimming with ideas to help breathe life back into the city, like closing part of Bridge Street for a weekly night market.

“When I lived in Rotorua people would come from the surrounding towns for the night market – it was a real drawcard.”

Another idea would be to have outdoor dance or fitness classes run on summer evenings, or to have interactive sculptures, like the bucket fountain in Cuba Mall in Wellington.

"Sculptures that move are fun and are always popular with kids and adults too."

He’d love to see more colour and vibrancy in the city – from lighting up the bridges and streets all year round, to painting the buildings in primary colours.

“I’ve seen it work really well in other cities overseas, where there is a street-wide colour scheme and buildings are painted in bright colours – it’s fun and makes for great photos too.”

He’d extend the colour scheme to the street architecture as well.
“All the light poles and bollards are painted black. If they were white or bright colours, it would give the street a lift.”

Nelson is surrounded by natural beauty – the mountains, the beach, the Abel Tasman National Park, and Yusuf would like to see more green and open spaces in the inner city.

“Closing the top of Trafalgar Street was great but we need more areas where people can sit, catch up with friends, and eat their lunch or dinner.”

And instead of temporary hanging baskets, he’d love to see more year-around planting – colourful flowers and herbs like mint and rosemary in planter boxes.

Most mornings you’ll see Yusuf outside with a leaf blower, clearing the leaves that have dropped all over the footpath.

“I don’t think the trees on Bridge Street are the right ones for the inner city. They shed their leaves, making the streets look messy. Their roots are coming through the footpath, making the area uneven for pedestrians.”
Yusuf’s suggestion is to plant citrus trees like lemons, oranges and mandarins.
"They stay green most of the year and don’t drop as many leaves. When they flower they have a beautiful scent, the fruit is colourful, and can be picked by the community as well.”

Yusuf is supportive of the Bridge to Better infrastructure to enable more people to live in the inner city.
“More people living in the city makes it livlier, and safer too. Most of the upper levels of our inner city buildings are empty now. It would be great to see these converted into apartment-style living.”

He anticipates that when construction for the project starts, it will be disruptive to businesses like Kebab Kitchen, but if the end result is a more attractive city, it will benefit everyone.

Yusuf believes that people take better care and feel more pride if the town looks good. He thinks that even doing the basics right, like keeping the streets clean, and making sure rubbish is removed quickly is a good start.

"We all need to work together - from business owners, to landlords and the council - we all need to play our part."

“We have a beautiful community. Nelson people are so friendly. But if we don’t do anything, more businesses will move away from Nelson and to other centres like Richmond.”

From Our Nelson.