There's nothing the owner of Wellington's iconic Matterhorn restaurant could have done to keep it open.

The eatery has to leave it's home in Cuba Street after more than 50 years, because the building is being demolished.

Owner Sean Marshall said he's working on moving Matterhorn and recreating its legacy.

He told Mike Hosking developers want to save a nearby quake-damaged heritage building, which once housed the Farmers department store - so it was out of his hands.

"100 percent of redevelopment is going to be done there. Obviously with Farmers building history stuff, things have moved on along a bit quicker since the earthquake."

LISTEN ABOVE AS SEAN MARSHALL SPEAKS WITH NADINE HIGGINS