SPQR closed suddenly in July, with liquidators brought in due to debts of more than $2 million to Inland Revenue and creditors. Former owner Chris Rupe was declared bankrupt in February.
The Paynes, who also own Ponsonby bars and restaurants Hoppers and Elmo’s, were announced as the new owners in September.
The European-inspired launch is a chance for the Paynes’ family, friends, old SPQR regulars and VIP guests to see how the sisters have transformed the restaurant ready for its new era.
Bronwyn explains the name Jacuzzi jumped out at the pair from nowhere.
“We were trying to think of a playful name that everyone almost feels is familiar without having discovered the venue yet, so when ‘Jacuzzi’ hit our mood board at home it didn’t take long to stand out,” says Bronwyn.
“We feel the name captures the venue’s vibrant artistry, and fun feeling of discovery which will all be revealed on opening night,” says Jessica.
The Paynes tell Society Insider they have worked hard to infuse Jacuzzi with a range of inspirations from SPQR’s decadent past and sprinkled their own “Disco fabulousness” into its new look and feel.
“Keeping the copper bar, frontage, and many more elements of this place, while pulling new elements in from our travels, has been a rewarding focus for us to achieve what we believe is a true blend of what our customers will appreciate,” Bronwyn tells Society Insider.
“We have added a number of recognisable and even some hidden, fun items, that locals and regulars will be discovering for years to come,” Jessica says.
The classic ivy-clad terrace spilling onto Ponsonby Rd has been refreshed to reflect the European style of street dining, with new outdoor chairs featuring woven iron backs and pink piped cushions.
Inside, the familiar side room with the fireplace has been given a full makeover. Jessica says they used skilled artists to create a room drenched with burgundy, reds, and other colours to create an immersive space, which has since been nicknamed ‘The Red Room’.
Pride of place in the centre of the room is a tank installation from award-winning English designer Timothy Oulton, whose work is featured in famous restaurants, showrooms and hotels around the world, including the 1880 Members Club in Singapore and The Bearded Rose on the island of Barbados.
Nicknamed Derek the Diver, Jacuzzi’s aquarium-like column contains a life-sized figure in a vintage scuba-diving helmet and suit. The Paynes say he “represents endurance and curiosity” and is one of only five similar pieces in the world.
The restaurant also features two Louis XVI-style sofas, nicknamed the love seats. New tabletops are pink and green, made from ancient Patagonia stone slabs.
The infamous SPQR unisex toilets have been refurbished with custom-made mosaic murals with mermaid and jungle themes.
When the Payne sisters opened Hoppers Garden Bar in 2019, across the road from their new establishment, the party was huge with hundreds of guests.
But even though they have knocked down a back wall and increased the floor space, numbers for Jacuzzi’s opening are more limited.
Local Rich Listers from the area understood to be invited are Centuria Capital NZ CEO Mark Francis and his wife, Red Room owner Dominique; Empire Capital’s Simon and Paula Herbert; Wyborn Capital CEO Justin Wyborn and wife Kylie. NZMS director James Kellow, who has his plush offices two doors down from Jacuzzi, is expected to attend with his wife Stephanie.
Past SPQR regulars on the invite list include communications whiz Jacqui Ansin, Lady Sarah Fay, interior designer Andrew Melville, and architect Darren Jessop.
Media dynamo Wilhelmina Shrimpton and fiance, rugby referee Ben O’Keeffe, are also expected.
Caitlin O’Sullivan’s Byron Bay bachelorette party doesn’t go to plan
Caitlin O’Sullivan, daughter of NZ racing royalty Lance and Bridgette O’Sullivan, celebrated her bachelorette weekend in Byron Bay, New South Wales last weekend.
Caitlin, 28, will marry former professional football player Tom Doyle, 32, later this month.
Ten guests attended the bachelorette weekend in Byron Bay, including Caitlin’s sister Georgia, who is dating All Black Damian McKenzie. But the celebration did not get off to a smooth start. After day one, the hens were evicted from the Airbnb they were renting.
Society Insider understands the eviction was because of noise, from music that was only being played from the television.
The ordeal was posted to TikTok and at the time of writing, has had more than 250,000 views.
Mum Bridgette hit her phone to find new accommodation while the girls parked up with their suitcases at a bar. Within a few hours a new hens’ pad had been found.
Once settled in, the bachelorette troupe headed to celebrity favourite restaurant, Raes, on the shores of Wategos Beach. But dinner and drinks at one of Byron Bay’s best spots wasn’t enough to distract Caitlin, who ran out to the beach to watch a horse race on her phone.
Along with being an ambassador for Ellerslie Races, Caitlin also works as a marketing manager for her father’s world-class thoroughbred training facility, Wexford Stables, in Matamata. She also runs her own digital marketing business, Miss Digital NZ.
Caitlin’s husband-to-be, Doyle, has worked in commercial and industrial sales and leasing for Bayleys in South Auckland since retiring from football. He already has more than $100 million in sales and lease transactions under his belt.
He and O’Sullivan have been dating for more than six years. In that time they have enjoyed spending time together in Doyle’s native Auckland and at O’Sullivan’s parents’ Waikato farm, Rockspring, as well as weekend getaways at the O’Sullivans’ smart beach pad in Mount Maunganui.
O’Sullivan tells Society Insider she and Doyle will marry at Red Barn, a wedding and function centre on Rockspring, on February 28.
“I am so excited and ready to marry Tom and I love that we are doing it on the property I grew up on,” O’Sullivan tells Society Insider.
Red Barn is a stunning wedding and function centre that Bridgette and Lance have run for more than 15 years.
The O’Sullivans’ 200ha dairy farm and estate is in Piarere, between Cambridge and Matamata. The land sits high above the valley with 360-degree views, including the Kaimai Ranges to the east and the wildlife sanctuary Maungatautari Mountain to the west. The grandeur of the stone cliffs saw Sir Peter Jackson choose the valley as the site for Hobbiton.
Waiheke wedding for Madison Reidy and Liam Malone
NZME’s Markets With Madison journalist Madison Reidy, 29, and former Kiwi Paralympic gold medal sprinter Liam Malone, 31, got married in a beautiful ceremony on Waiheke last Saturday. The couple got engaged in 2023.
The black-tie wedding was at the picturesque Mudbrick Vineyard, said to be attended by more than 100 friends and family.
Although official photos are yet to be released, Society Insider was told it was a picture-perfect blue sky day, and their white chairs and white staging juxtaposed beautifully against Mudbrick’s expansive views of the Waitematā Harbour.
Malone’s best man was his best mate, multimillionaire Aotearoa Labour Hire managing director, Izzy Whitley.
Among the guests were former Bachelorette contestant Claudia Ryan (nee Hoskins) and her husband, former Bachelor Quinn Ryan. The Ryans last month announced they were expecting a baby sister for their 2-year-old daughter Elodie in August.
Trelise Cooper, Angela Dunn, and fashion power players reflect on the 90s
A new local movie is set to lift the lid on some of New Zealand’s biggest fashion power players and their most memorable moments in the 90s.
Supermodel Angela Dunn, fashion designers Dame Trelise Cooper and Megan Douglas, and fashion editor Paula Ryan are among the cast of 30 key players featured in celebrated photographer and documentarian Neil Gussey’s new movie, The Great 90s Rewind.
In the 90s, Fashion Quarterly editor Paula Ryan was well and truly ensconced as our own Anna Wintour, Cooper was fast becoming a household name, while Dunn and Douglas were about to take their Auckland 80s It-girl status to dominate in the UK and Europe.
“It was the most exciting, overwhelming and totally all-consuming time,” Cooper tells Society Insider. “And I’m still doing it: designing, travelling the world to fabric fairs and loving it.”
The Great 90s Rewind, which premieres at Auckland’s Capitol cinema on Sunday night, is the third film in Gussey’s trilogy series. The first in 2022, The Rise and Fall of Miss NZ, was followed last year with the Kylie Bax story, Bax and Beyond, which has been picked up by Sky TV to screen later this year.
“The film covers the dark days of grunge and then the return of glamour in the late 1990s,” he says.
“It is dedicated to my favourite NZ model from the era, Jessica Palmer, who passed away in 2022.”
It’s a timely release for Gussey’s film, with many retrospective documentaries about the big magazines and models of the era streaming on Netflix, Disney+ and more.
“I’m watching them all,” says London-based Kiwi model Angela Dunn, “and I remember that I was actually there doing shows and shoots with those girls.”
Dunn means the likes of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon and Linda Evangelista.
In the 90s, she was based in London and worked in all the major fashion capitals, becoming known as our first runway and photographic supermodel.
“At the shows, backstage we smoked cigarettes and drank champagne,” she says. “It was impossibly glamorous, but another day’s work.”
The work was four fashion seasons of constant travel, but Dunn says the energy was so good and buzzy, that she never got tired.
She says there would be at least two shows a day, then straight to the parties and, on occasion, straight through to the shows the next day.
“Having the best makeup artists, hairdressers and of course photographers in the world could help forgive the sins of the night before,” Dunn says.
“An all-nighter was very rare. I was very professional. There was no auto fix back then, and a bad photo could cost thousands in retouching.
“It was all so fun. Of course, a lot of pressure to perform.”
The ever-busy mother of one is still based in London, in a magnificent Georgian home in Notting Hill with her husband, renowned architect Colin Radcliffe and is still very much a part of the fashion scene.
Also featured in the documentary is Dunn’s close friend Megan Douglas, the daughter of 1980s Labour finance minister Sir Roger Douglas. She says the late 80s and early 90s were a truly special time in London, as new and exciting underground scenes impacted the arts and fashion heavily.
When Douglas hit London, she changed the name of her fashion label from Obscure Desire to the eponymous Megan Douglas. Her designs were sold through top-end retailers Harrods, Whistles and Joseph, and seen in fashion spreads such as Vogue and The Face.
Douglas also worked as a freelance designer and was a stylist for a few pop stars.
“My boyfriend at the time was Willy M who wrote the music and played guitar for Londonbeat, who had the No 1 hit I’ve Been Thinking About You,” says Douglas.
“I started off designing the clothes for the band and styling for their videos.
“I also worked with Annie Lennox, Shakespeare’s Sister, The Brand New Heavies, Seal and Julia Fordham.”
Douglas eventually returned home to New Zealand, having left London after three years for a more nomadic lifestyle in India and Japan. On arrival back to Auckland she took a career U-turn, studying to become a medical herbalist and naturopath.
In 2010, Douglas established organic skincare brands including The Organic Skin Co, which is doing extremely well in the US.
Party people of the week
Tinā premiere at the Civic
Pasifika pride and passion took over Auckland’s Civic Theatre on Tuesday night, with the Aotearoa Premiere of the highly anticipated movie Tinā, which will be in cinemas nationwide on February 27.
Making his feature directorial debut, Miki Magasiva also co-produced and wrote the screenplay, which follows the inspiring and heartwarming story of a Samoan teacher, played by award-winning artist Our Flag Means Death’s Anapela Polataivao. After suffering tragedy in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, she reluctantly takes on a role at an elite, wealthy private school where differences collide, but connection is found.
Tinā translates to “Mother” in Samoa and is drawn from a lifetime being raised by strong Samoan women, says Magasiva. “With their resilience, wisdom, and deep connection to their culture, these leaders are the foundation of our community. Tinā is a story that celebrates the strength and spirit of the mother.”
The film was co-produced by Dan Higgins and Mario Gaoa and also stars Hawai’i Five-0 star Beulah Koale, Shortland Street’s Nicole Whippy and sees the very talented newcomer Antonia Robinson, playing the young lead student – Sophie.
There were more than 2000 guests for the premiere, including cast, crew and guests.
Among the well-known faces who came to support Magasiva included director and producer Chelsea Winstanley, and actors Bella Kalolo, Tammy Davis, Dave Fane, Oscar Kightley, Teuila Blakely, JP Foliaki and Vinnie Bennett.
Media personalities included Stacey Morrison and Kate Rodger, and from the music realm were Melodownz, Moses Mackay, Vince Harder, and K’Lee.
Sporting greats were there too, including Dame Valerie Adams and former All Black Tana Umaga.
NZ’s biggest Super Bowl party
New Zealand’s biggest-ever Super Bowl party lived up to the hype on Monday after the NZ Warriors-owned Full Time Bar and Eatery, transformed into an American football haven.
The popular sports bar hosted more than 200 guests across its inside and outdoor spaces to see the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
The bar’s car park was turned into a tailgating dream, complete with astro-turf, sponsor tents, a massive projection screen, and all-you-can-eat American-style food. Fans indulged in smoked brisket, hot dogs, wings, and country-fried chicken while enjoying drinks and the ultimate Super Bowl experience.
The event attracted a who’s who of Kiwi sports and media personalities. UFC superstar Navajo Stirling was spotted mingling with fans, with Warriors alumni Logan Swann and Gary Fuimaono. Society chef Hercules Noble was also in attendance, enjoying the all-American spectacle.
One of the biggest highlights of the day was an exclusive private performance by Kiwi music sensation Mitch James, who brought the house down. It is one of James’ last live shows, as last year he announced he was retiring from music.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.