Dynamic Duos in NZ Hospitality

Three duos in Aotearoa’s hops scene share what it’s like owning and running their own cafés and restaurants.

DUO Eatery - Sarah and Jordan MacDonald
Birkenhead, Auckland

Ever enjoyed a coffee or ordered a dish from Culprit, Little Culprit, Lowbrow, Double Double or Nook? Those stylish inner-
city cafés were all co-founded by Jordan MacDonald. His latest project? Duo Eatery on Hinemoa Street in Birkenhead, opened alongside wife Sarah early last year.

“The biggest thing for us is that we wanted to move out into the suburbs. The city is a harsh environment with lots of competition, much higher overheads and just generally a harder place to operate,” says Jordan. “And in the suburbs, there’s a whole community around you every week.”

That community is Sarah and Jordan’s favourite part of operating Duo.

“We’ve definitely got a good amount of regulars that love Duo, and we love that as well. Some people come in twice a day, five days a week and then they still try to come in on the days we’re closed. Every week they’re like, ‘Oh my, we forgot you’re closed on Monday and Tuesday’,” laughs Sarah.

“I think we’ve got 40 more friends now,” adds Jordan. Living just a few doors up the road, one of those friends is the person who originally opened a café at the location 30 years ago. “She’s our best regular now.

“Her café used to be the best in Birkenhead, and now it’s come full circle.”

Then there’s the pair of regulars that decided to get married at Duo!

“We got a couple of our regulars married – they had a four-person wedding. I was just there standing in the kitchen crying,” laughs Sarah.

Clearly, more than just the regular coffee- to-go happens at Duo Eatery. Initially operating only during the day, a liquor licence now means that dinners are on offer – which sees a new group of regulars entering the doors.

“It’s a neighbourhood bistro with food that can be shared if you like, or someone can have their own meal,” says Jordan. “The food is modern New Zealand, and we have a specials board that has around four new things on it every couple of weeks that we really try to be creative and seasonal with.”

On the regular brunch menu, you’ll find dishes such as Smashed Avo, Mushrooms on Toast, and The Duo – two poached eggs on grilled sourdough with bacon, chorizo, mushrooms, confit tomatoes, crispy potatoes and house-made chutney. Along with a cup or two of Coffee Supreme, sodas and smoothies, you can even order a ‘brekky cocktail’ – espresso martini or a mimosa, anyone?

For the evening, there are ‘snacks’, ‘smaller’ dishes, ‘larger’ dishes, ‘sides’ and ‘sweets’ to choose from, plus vegan-friendly options.

With three young children, it’s certainly a busy time for Sarah and Jordan – but with the passion they have for what they do, they wouldn’t have it any other way. Plans are even in motion to open another restaurant next door, with a casual atmosphere, slightly larger than Duo with around 40 seats, and pasta on the menu at an affordable price point.

“We’re just trying to stay in our lane and have fun. This is the most fun that we’ve had owning a business – there’s a lot more flexibility and a lot more we can do. If something comes in as a special for one day, it’s here for one day and then it’s gone,” says Jordan.

“Somehow, we have more time for the kids too. It’s nice having the support of another owner that’s as motivated as you are to get the job done and to do it to a high standard of care – you don’t always get that.”

Ally & Sid – Samuel and Aimee Nimmo
Christchurch Central

A project by husband-and-wife-team Samuel and Aimee Nimmo, the Insta-worthy Ally & Sid café sits in an old rubber moulding building on Walker Street in Christchurch.

Opened in late 2019, it was a dream come true for Samuel: “I started working in coffee as a little bit of an in-between when I was studying and pretty quickly fell in love with it.”

Initially signing a lease at another site, things fell through – but then the opportunity to take the lease at the current site came up.

“We were just freshly married, and I gave Aimee the call and said, ‘What do you think of this?’. It was probably the first idea that I brought forward that she actually felt like it was a good idea,” he laughs. “So together we kind of dreamed it up, and here we are a few years later.”

And a busy few years it’s been. Having not been in business long before Covid-19 hit – bringing with it devastation to the hospitality industry – Samuel and Aimee had to think quick on their feet.

“What got us through that time was being able to put on different events and hire the space out, it was such a blessing,” says Samuel. “It all started off as quite a small café, and we have really grown. We extended the café about six months in because we just needed more space. We actually have events two to three times a week and we’re pretty much booked out for the weekends for the year, which is really cool.”

As well as playing host and co-operating Ally & Sid, Samuel’s other passion is coffee.

“We offer two different espressos: we have a blend for black and a blend for white coffee, using Ozone. Then we also offer a lot of filter coffee. We bring in coffee from all around the world – like as a guest spot. Recently we imported from Rose Coffee Roasters in Switzerland, and we’ve also done a lot from Germany and Australia.

“It’s really fun to open up the single origin offerings and people always go crazy for filter coffee and trying something new. I think drinking filter is a very clean way of drinking coffee – it’s almost like drinking tea. The consistency is just incredible and so many flavours come through. So, filter coffee has been a huge thing for us and we’re really stoked with how it’s gone.”

As well as introducing Ally & Sid regulars to different international coffee tastes, all of the food at the café is sourced locally.

“Good Honest does our bread – their honey and linseed sourdough is out of this world. We also love Grizzly Baked Goods here in Christchurch. They do incredible doughnuts and pastries, so they’re definitely a favourite for us.”

Everything Samuel and Aimee is doing seems to be working, with Christchurch locals dropping by for their coffee and tasty cabinet fare – sometimes multiple times a day.

“A lot of our regulars are lawyers and accountants, and those with other high-stress jobs in the area, so we can see these people come in three to four times a day!” says Samuel.

“But I think it’s been such a cool thing for us, making a lot of friends doing Ally & Sid. Sometimes we even bring our baby to work – our little girl Ziggy will be behind the counter. She’s got some good friends already.”

It’s very much working as a team that has made it all possible, says Samuel: “Aimee is the ideas person and I’m the make-it-happen person. Sometimes she’ll have an idea and maybe think it’s a long-term thing, but I’ll start on it straightaway and make it happen. And that can be pretty frustrating for her, but I think that’s what I love – just being able to work together.

“I feel very honoured to be doing what we do. We’re so blessed and our goal is for Ally & Sid to be a second home when you’re not at home.”

The Engine Room – Carl Koppenhagen and Natalia Schamroth
Northcote Point, Auckland

Found at the same location it opened at in 2006, The Engine Room is a much-loved dining spot for Aucklanders – and from the outset, owners Carl Koppenhagen and Natalia Schamroth knew the vision they wanted to fulfill.

“We felt like there was a real gap in the market,” says Natalia.

“We’d loved all the Sydney bistros and there just wasn’t anything like that here 17 years ago. We wanted to create a space with the kind of food we like cooking and eating, and the kind of place that we like going on our days off.”

Inside the converted old post office – which was renovated nine years ago by acclaimed architecture firm, Fearon Hay – The Engine Room is a bustling bistro with plenty of locals that have been visiting since the doors opened in the mid-2000s.

“A lot of our customers are regulars and a lot of them have been coming to us for 17 years. You know, we’ve seen their kids grow up from babies to go to university and leave home – which is amazing!” shares Carl. “And that’s what we want – the kind of local bistro where you can pop in and have a glass of wine, some oysters, have a couple of snacks, or come in for a three-course meal.”

One of the most important things for the duo has been to keep things consistent over the years: the same location, the same atmosphere that diners have come to expect and love, and the same standard of exceptional food.

“We’ve certainly stuck to our original plan,” laughs Natalia. “We were quite clear about what it was that we wanted the restaurant to be, and we haven’t needed to change it into something else. It’s never been about being on trend; it’s about being in the moment, about being classic. It’s about delicious food and unpretentious service.” “If you’re using the best ingredients and executing them with the right amount of skill, then it’s hard to improve on those things,” adds Carl, “so, we always try to source the best ingredients that we can get and not mess with them too much.”

As we chat, Carl lists a number of local suppliers that can be found on The Engine Room’s menu, including Clevedon Buffalo, Durham Farms and Te Matuku Oysters from Waiheke Island.

“It’s exciting to have people who are doing these kinds of projects locally. There are things that we do use that come from overseas, but if you can get olive oil that’s been made on Waiheke and sent to you the following week, or eggs that are laid the day before we get them, it doesn’t really get any better than that.”

And the kitchen – where this produce is brought to life in meals such as Twice-baked Goat’s Cheese Soufflé – is where the heart of the restaurant is, explains Carl: “The name came about from years of working in restaurants and we always used to call the kitchen ‘the engine room’; that was the heart of the restaurant. The kitchen is the heart of the business and that’s why we always wanted to have an open kitchen. People walk in, they all see the kitchen team, they see all the chefs and we all talk to every customer that comes through the door.”

“There’s no division, which isn’t how it was when I first started cooking in the 80s – the kitchen was always out the back. And I think that’s the beauty of dining nowadays. You can sit at the kitchen counter, watch the chefs doing what they do and communicate with them. It breaks down that barrier.”

Natalia says this helps with the harmony between the kitchen and floor, making The Engine Room what it is known and loved for: “We’re all working together as a team and there’s real harmony between everybody. It really is special, the relationships that we’ve built with our customers.”