How a Birkenhead couple grew a neighbouring dining empire.<\/p>\n
Four businesses, 41 staff, three kids. Hospitality husband and wife duo Sarah and Jordan MacDonald have a lot on their plates. <\/p>\n
\n But visiting the pair at Birkenhead\u2019s Hinemoa St, where they operate cafe Duo, restaurant Osteria Uno, wine bar Bon
\n Pinard and newly opened wine shop Hinemoa St Cellars, you don\u2019t get the sense the pair have bitten off more than they can chew.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s a drama, nothing\u2019s too hard,\u201d chef Jordan says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always said if we have the time and ingredients, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah says the key to their success is prioritising simplicity, \u201cyum food, easy service, happy lives\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s not that hard \u2013 you just need to copy and paste yourself about 25 times.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple’s newest business, Hinemoa St Cellar, opened in December. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
The pair do appear to be taking over, one Hinemoa St storefront at a time.<\/p>\n
The couple opened Duo in March 2022, and seven months later the embroidery shop next door closed. The opportunity was too tempting for the pair who you might recognise from their time at Culprit, Little Culprit, Lowbrow and Nook. Osteria Uno entered the world in October.<\/p>\n
Sarah says Jordan is always looking for solutions to problems. In this case, what else could they add to the neighbourhood? \u201cPasta-focused Italian. High quality but affordable and approachable. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe way he convinced me to expand initially was, \u2018if we have two restaurants there\u2019ll be more storage\u2019. There\u2019s no more storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
When one door opens, so do new pinch points, but Jordan remains unflappable. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we first opened Osteria Uno it was too busy, a two or three hour wait for a table, there was nowhere for people to wait,\u201d Sarah explains. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen this space just down the road came up and Jordan was like \u2018we could have a wine bar where everyone could wait\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bon Pinard in Birkenhead sits alongside sister restaurants Uno and Duo. Photo \/ Babiche Martens. <\/p>\n
Said wine bar, the European-styled Bon Pinard, opened in mid-2024, built as a waiting room.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s taken on an identity of its own \u2013 full of people that are choosing it as the destination,\u201d Jordan says. <\/p>\n
The pair are well practised in the art of the pivot. Duo was originally conceived as an evening establishment but a lengthy delay in liquor licensing saw them adjust circadian rhythms. <\/p>\n
It was the right call. Another pivot, the addition of neighbourhood supper clubs has proved particularly successful, attracting first-timers and luring locals back in. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s little wonder, given the menu offers three courses for $60. Fish crudo, beef carpaccio, steak frites, panna cotta. \u201cWe don\u2019t skimp in any way,\u201d Sarah says.<\/p>\n
For Valentine\u2019s Day, they\u2019re offering a decadent $145pp menu with oysters, crayfish, caviar, scallops, wagyu and chocolate. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a reflection of the MacDonalds\u2019 ethos: \u201cWe just want to add value to the neighbourhood,\u201d Jordan explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have Australian wagyu steaks on the menu. In a normal restaurant, they would be $99; we\u2019re selling it for $55. We eat some margin,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome items on the menu we look at a dollar not a percentage. They\u2019re almost loss leaders but that dish will probably be the highlight of the customer\u2019s meal \u2013 the thing that they come back again for and will get lots of other stuff on the menu that makes money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mafaldine, beef cheek, shiitake, egg yolk on the menu at Osteria Uno. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
Sarah says the abundant approach is reflective of Jordan\u2019s self-sacrificing nature spilling into work. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to be generous even if it\u2019s at our own sacrifice,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Jordan insists it pays off long term. <\/p>\n
He also counters that, actually, the pair approach their business somewhat selfishly \u2013 rather than solely serving the community, they\u2019re building places they\u2019d want to frequent. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was here last night straight from the pools in my jandals,\u201d Sarah says. \u201cAt the next table, people were celebrating their anniversary. It adds to the vibe. There\u2019s really no pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no pressure to conform to one style of food either. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is just food that we want to eat,\u201d Jordan says, simply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Duo we said it\u2019s bistro style \u2013 modern New Zealand food \u2013 which is a bit of a cop out because we can draw from anywhere in the world. Modern NZ doesn\u2019t really have a food identity, apart from being a melting pot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The raw fish on toast on the day menu at Duo. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
Influences come from far and near. The dish that put them on the map, Duo\u2019s raw fish on toast, is another example of their community connections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was designed the night before we opened, based on a raw fish dish our friend Les from Apero had on at the time,\u201d Sarah says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 2am I was like, \u2018why don\u2019t we just do an epic ceviche on toast\u2019?\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an example of how the pair generally collaborate. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll say a random idea, he\u2019ll say \u2018no that\u2019s not going to work\u2019, and I say \u2018yeah, well, make it work, figure it out\u2019,\u201d Sarah says, with a laugh.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s done a fair bit of figuring it out, too. A chef herself, Sarah moved to handling the front of house when they opened, because she had to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made sense that one should be on the floor, one should be in the kitchen \u2013 at the time Jordan was much more of the behind the scenes in the kitchen chef, he definitely didn\u2019t talk to customers as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it and was scared shitless; I\u2019d been a chef for six years but now I love it. You\u2019re forced to be happy. When you\u2019re back of house and something goes wrong, everyone gets sucked into the manic depressive s*** \u2013 on the floor, you have to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah now handles the front of house. Photo \/ Babiche Martens. <\/p>\n
As they enter their fifth year operating on Hinemoa St, have they found a sustainable rhythm? Opinions differ. <\/p>\n
In Jordan\u2019s eyes their pace is sustainable, but it\u2019s \u201ca lot more work than it used to be\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of pivoting, manoeuvring, coming up with new promotions and ways to advertise yourself without appearing to be desperate, without doing things that we don\u2019t align with or devalue your brand.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sarah says, \u201cit\u2019s okay right now\u201d, but then again, \u201cit\u2019s always okay right now\u201d. <\/p>\n
Ensuring it stays that way though, takes constant work.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou definitely have to be active in the restaurant to know what\u2019s going on,\u201d Jordan agrees. \u201cYou have to be here in order to realise, oh crap, Tuesdays are dead, what do we need to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Osteria Uno\u2019s $20 rigatoni Tuesdays are now their third busiest trade day of the week; sometimes it\u2019s the busiest, and they turn the restaurant over fully twice. <\/p>\n
The omnipresence pays dividends other than financial. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is really highly valued by the staff and the community. Not just being the face of it, but doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve won over the locals, but they\u2019ve been won over, too. They admittedly weren\u2019t overly familiar with Birkenhead when they opened, but have now moved their family into the suburb and are fully ensconced in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds cheesy, but our regulars are some of our best friends now,\u201d Sarah says. <\/p>\n
Jordan helms the kitchens. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
The couple still have a small, silent partnership in inner-city restaurant Culprit, but neighbourhood dining is their full focus. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew when we left the city we wanted to get into a neighbourhood, we didn\u2019t know or care what neighbourhood, we looked at Avondale too,\u201d Sarah explains. \u201cWe really just lucked out that this area is so lovely. I don\u2019t think we would have opened as many businesses anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
They both feel like neighbourhood eateries are the way of the future \u2013 in Auckland at least. <\/p>\n
The suburbs have their drawbacks \u2013 attracting staff for one \u2013 but it evens out. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like people like the ease of being able to walk up the road and walk home. It\u2019s easy to bring the kids up for a 5 o\u2019clock dinner and you don\u2019t need to worry about parking,\u201d Sarah says. <\/p>\n
Independent ownership suits neighbourhoods too; the city is an eating arena increasingly dominated by hospitality groups. <\/p>\n
\u201cThose groups, their venues are so big that they\u2019re not really even [comparable],\u201d Jordan says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a formula, and it works \u2013 they can do the big groups because they do massive venues, 300sq m. That\u2019s their business model. Duo is 60sq m, Uno is 80sq m, our wine shop\u2019s 20sq m, the wine bar is maybe 50. We\u2019re way smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n
The small charm that attracts customers translates into business relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a huge difference in purchasing power between us and them, because we develop relationships with our suppliers,\u201d Jordan insists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get good deals because they\u2019re massive, but we have good relationships. Margins are so tight on suppliers at the moment anyway that there\u2019s not really any better deals to be had.<\/p>\n
\u201cGroups are good, they employ lots of people and keep the majority of the population happy, they\u2019re feeding a purpose, but they\u2019re not our style.\u201d<\/p>\n
Husband and wife team Jordan and Sarah MacDonald own and operate Duo, Osteria Uno, Bon Pinard and Hinemoa St Cellar in Birkenhead. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
Keeping a business healthy is one thing, keeping a relationship strong is another. <\/p>\n
Sarah thinks a major reason the couple can endure the intensity is the fact they\u2019ve never known any different. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe started cooking together, at Fed Deli, we\u2019ve only ever been involved in each other that much,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got three awesome kids that, yes, make it even more stressful, so when you\u2019re out of work, you\u2019re still talking about work, that\u2019s our life. It\u2019s forever going to be our life, I imagine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s us. We both care so much about our businesses, about each other, about all the things in our life that it works. We try not to fight it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trying not to fight is their goal for the foreseeable. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo more restaurants or businesses,\u201d Sarah says, turning to face her husband. \u201cFocus on what we\u2019ve got and keep everyone happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, boss,\u201d Jordan says, with a smile.<\/p>\n
More on food<\/p>\n
The kai, chefs and creators at the heart of our culinary scene. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How a Birkenhead couple grew a neighbouring dining empire. Four businesses, 41 staff, three kids. Hospitality husband and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[109397,88484,138,8414,22503,1871,14058,83475,305,16802,29165,46519,46401,111,139,529,69,151865,151866,6967,18484,65770,124743,102],"class_list":["post-266629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-birkenhead","tag-bon","tag-business","tag-couple","tag-dining","tag-duo","tag-empire","tag-grew","tag-have","tag-jordan","tag-macdonald","tag-neighbourhood","tag-neighbouring","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-north","tag-nz","tag-osteria","tag-pinard","tag-sarah","tag-shore","tag-transformed","tag-uno","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}