Colin Cloudesley - Carrying on the legacy

He was a pretty skinny cat himself, but Colin Cloudesley was best known in Queenstown for his Fatz Cat Restaurant (Ristorante Italiano), knowledge of Italian food, and Italian impersonations, despite having not an ounce of Italian blood in his veins.

​There was a strong flow of hospitality in those veins though, the son and grandson of well-known Christchurch and Canterbury publicans. His grandfather operated Warners Hotel in the 1940s, a landmark in Christchurch Cathedral Square that was sadly lost to the 2011 earthquakes.  In 2010, Colin continued family tradition opening his successful Christchurch restaurant, Piccolo Ristorante Italiano, in Somerfield.

Stands to reason then that in his younger days Colin was top Kiwi salesman for Roche, selling more Berocca per head of population than any other Roche salesman in the world. It was the early 80s with massive promotions of Berocca as a great hangover cure. “I won a silver tray for that,” he recalls, with a grin.

Colin, now 75 and “still doing one-arm press-ups”, grew up in Christchurch, attending Addington Primary from the mid-1950s, then Cashmere High School, working in the local butcher’s shop after school, one of six children spanning 15 years.

“We’d bike off in the morning and be back at dinnertime. The mischief happened in between,” he grins. “I lost count of how many times I was strapped the day after I chased the headmistress down the street with my dog.”

Colin began his hospo career young, making home brew at 14 or 15 and selling it at the door of the local church Youth Club. “I charged 10 cents a small bottle and made the other kids drink the whole bottle at the door so I could refill it, but the minister still loved me.”

A gifted salesman, he left school at 17 to work for International Cameras, then on to Henry Berry’s – “butchers, bakers and candlestick makers”, supplying hospitality and hotels with everything from baked goods to machinery. “I started in the showroom at 19 and increased sales by 300%. I listened to the people and tried to understand what they required.”

Unfortunately, he was hit in the company vehicle and rolled it, moving on to Kennedy’s Diamond Rings. “Young couples lined up the staircase on Friday nights, a few of them putting $2 down on an engagement ring, then they never came back. I think most of them were saying, ‘I love you tonight, but I won’t see you tomorrow,” he grins.

After working for a cosmetic company, then Roche, Queenstown friend Peter Fleming suggested Colin talk to an Auckland company selling souvenir teaspoons and ski badges. “They were doing $1m turnover annually when I started with them and in two-and a-bit years that was $11m.”

Nigel Brown then encouraged him to sell real estate in Queenstown in 1990. “There were 25 agents in town.” Real estate was tough in the 90s, Colin then a solo dad to his eldest two kids, so he also ran Club 21 nightclub in Shotover Street, breaking up his share of brawls and assaults on barmen.

He’d bought his first Fernhill section for just $20,000, buying more, each time building two townhouses and on-selling.

Partner Anne then moved down from Christchurch with their son, Harry, in 1996 and Colin opened Fatz Cat in Hec Boyd’s building in Brecon Street during tough economic times.

“I remember Chico from Avanti’s coming over and telling me how bad the recession was. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him a pizza.”

Undeterred, Colin unsuccessfully stood for mayor against incumbent Clive Geddes to fight for a better deal for hospo operators. “They wanted outdoor table patrons gone by 10.30pm so I gave the council a dressing down.

“Those were good days down in Queenstown. We had a lot of fun, some really good friendships.”

A move from the original restaurant to make way for the Sofitel Hotel saw a shift to Steamer Wharf, but the rent doubled soon after, Colin selling his lease to Wai and running Fraser’s Bar and Restaurant while the new Sofitel was completed.

A difficult time followed in his restaurant business back in the hotel building with Colin losing a significant amount of money. “I left Queenstown with nothing.”

​Undeterred, and with the help of a great landlord in Christchurch, he was able to start over and open Piccolo Ristorante Italiano. The restaurant rapidly became famous for all the “wrong reasons”.  

“A male customer threw a plate at me and a fight broke out after the woman with him insisted her order, that she’d just eaten, was wrong and wouldn’t pay.”

Next thing Colin was receiving media calls from Auckland, including top TV journalists. “Each time I answered in an Italian accent and gave my name as ‘Georgio’. They were chasing me for about a month,” Colin grins. “After that I had a lot of people wanting to see the terrible chef. My restaurant took off.”

He owned that for 14 years and these days Colin’s a partner in a business importing tiny houses from China, for which there’s huge demand. He loves to travel and just this month gave away his liquor licence for good, ending generations of Cloudesleys in the business.

While he’s always been an ‘old school’ boss, expecting high standards from staff, Colin says he ensured “at the end of the night we were still friends”.

He once discovered a Brazilian staffer needing a visa had given him a false passport, but all of his other overseas staff across the world remain lifelong friends. “I talk to many of them monthly, and the odd one still calls me for advice.”