Aucklanders are fickle diners. How do you build something they\u2019ll queue for? Hugo Baird speaks to Viva about his hospo success and what he wants to do next.<\/p>\n
The day before Hugo Baird opened Mother, he became a second-time father.<\/p>\n
\n At his Grey Lynn cafe, the iced buns were about
\n to go viral; across town, his partner Lucy was in labour.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were in Birthcare, and Lucy said, \u2018Look, do you want to go?\u2019 I was only away for three or four hours, but, yeah, obviously not ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investment in the new business had been enormous. You can\u2019t, says Baird, leave an opening week to chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew there was going to be a clash … but it was our second one, so she knew what she was doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s life as a business owner. You can\u2019t pick and choose. I\u2019d love to have been, \u2018no, I\u2019m just going to sit this one out\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a story of success \u2013 and sacrifice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve definitely had moments where I\u2019ve just thought, s***, is it all worth it? Particularly in my 20s. You\u2019re leaving a party and it\u2019s midnight and all your mates are just kicking off and I\u2019m going home in a taxi because I\u2019m waking up in five hours to pick up bread.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I knew, even when I was working at Depot, that I was giving up something to be in hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baird quit Mt Albert Grammar for a building apprenticeship at the end of his sixth form (Year 12). Ultimately, what he built was a small Auckland hospitality empire. From Crumb to Honeybones and now Mother, Lilian and Hotel Ponsonby, Baird is connected to some of the city\u2019s most queued-for restaurants and cafes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHugo has always been a very hardworking and driven person,\u201d says his partner, Lucy Jamieson. \u201cBut he also has a creative side. He has such a strong vision for the spaces that he has transformed \u2013 the interior, the music, the branding \u2013 he knows what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019d told her in her 20s this would be her life: \u201cI would have just laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That teenage Baird only lasted a year on the hammer (\u201cthe winters were tough \u2013 a couple of bangs on the thumb and a two-degree morning\u201d). He signed up to become a personal trainer, but \u201cI was in a tracksuit and everyone else was in a suit\u201d. He got a part-time job delivering wine out of the back of a Jeep Wrangler and that, eventually, became a full-time gig selling to restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got something like $400 a week, and every week I\u2019d buy a new T-shirt and go to the clubs shouting drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was doing okay. Probably, he says, \u201cthere were some mercy listings going on\u201d. More importantly, he had found his career path. Johnny de Monchy, Britomart Hospitality Group general manager, was an early mentor. When Baird decided that he too would like to own bars and restaurants, \u201cJohnny said straight up, \u2018Well, you might need to work in some first\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went to Sydney with his mate and now business partner Willy Gresson, and found work at Manly\u2019s Hotel Steyne. It had some \u201cpretty glamorous\u201d dining options, but Baird was stationed in the TAB bar. Absolutely everybody came in for a punt, and he learned the value of a hospitality space with broad demographic appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been to a lot of places where they\u2019re just trying to be the cool crowd. If you\u2019re not cool and hip, the barista is sort of annoyed at you for being there. I never liked any of that. Hated walking into a place where you didn\u2019t feel welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hugo Baird, who co-owns Mother, Lilian and Hotel Ponsonby, says a high service standard is key to hospitality industry success. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Baird\u2019s vision for Hotel Ponsonby was \u201cthree different vibes, across three different zones\u201d. At Mother, he imagined a daytime cafe and a night-time wine bar, catering for the diners waiting to get into Lilian \u2013 the space that was popular from day one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always try and do a build-up on social media. I think I just said \u2018open\u2019 and thought a few people might turn up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two pages of waitlists. Two-hour waits for a table. For \u201cwhatever reason\u201d, says Baird, service expectations for suburban dining were low.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plan was to knock it out of the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want people to go \u2018this fitout is amazing\u2019 \u2013 and then you hang their jackets up and go a bit above and beyond.”<\/p>\n
It was the formula he\u2019d learned at Depot under the tutelage of Joe Williams (\u201cbest manager I\u2019ve ever had\u201d) and Warren Ford (who later invited Baird to help open Fed Deli).<\/p>\n
Baird was fresh home from Australia and looking for bar work when he got offered a trial at Depot, famous for its shucked-to-order oysters, bach aesthetic and absolute refusal to take bookings or give celebrities preferential entry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all about everything being perfect and the customer having the best possible experience, even after waiting long periods of time to get in. I broke my ankle one year and had to do the door. That was quite tough, but it was cool to do something different, and it really helped me when we opened up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u201d is Lilian. He\u2019s chosen the Richmond Rd venue, opened in 2019 with Gresson, chef Otis Gardner Schapiro and a silent business partner, for this mid-morning interview \u2013 mostly because it\u2019s still a few hours before service. <\/p>\n