Nobody gets into a relationship expecting it to fail.
Be it business or personal, partnerships are optimistic enterprises. But sometimes the wheels fall off. It's what happens next that counts. So how do you continue running a handful of successful bars and restaurants with someone you're simultaneously breaking up with?
It's a scenario Brisbane's Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau have experienced first hand.
Having met in in the ski-fields of Chamonix, France, the London couple scraped together savings working hospitality careers across Europe while nurturing a desire to open "the best bar in town". For this cosmopolitan pair it could have been any town, anywhere. But in 2008 they picked Brisbane, Australia.
"Because it had a chilled out vibe, wasn't too hectic, great people," says Tom. "And it had so much potential - there was only a handful of small bars at that stage."
Once in Brisbane, and pulling shifts in the local scene, they met another couple with a similar ambition. They joined forces, nabbed one of Queensland's first Small Bar Licences and, in 2010, opened Canvas at Woolloongabba. It was named Best New Bar at the Australian Bar Awards the following year.
From there, the hits kept coming. They opened their first restaurant, Public, on the first-floor of an office tower at the heart of corporate Brisbane. No-one thought it would work, but it won a hat and title of Best New Restaurant in the Queensland Good Food Guide (from the publisher of this website) in 2012. Then came Red Hook, a laneway burger bar inspired by Brooklyn, New York. Italian bistro Coppa Spuntino followed hot on its heels.
By the end of 2014 their business partnership was thriving. Unfortunately their personal relationship wasn't. The pair called time on their romance a few months later, just before their fifth venue, West End gastropub London Fields, opened to the public.
"When we moved to Brisbane, we moved as a couple ... and now we're just business partners," says Shearston. Sanceau is sitting beside her as lunch is cleared away from the tables at Coppa behind them. "Your goals do change a little bit."
We're talking about what's next for the dynamic duo and their company, Happy Fat Group. It's a difficult question, because the answer reflects the highs and lows of mixing business with pleasure. Can business survive a break-up?
"I think it was the business that helped bring about the break-up," says Shearston. "If there was someone thinking of going into business now who was in a relationship, I'd probably advise against it."
"I'm actually very surprised we're still working together," adds Sanceau. "I wasn't a very nice human to be around - but we've managed to come through that."
I'm actually very surprised we're still working together. I wasn't a very nice human to be around.
Tom Sanceau
"What, you're surprised I stuck around?" Shearston asks, laughing. Cue a few moments of good-natured banter. "We both did things at the time we weren't pleased with. But you apologise and you move on, and our friendship is deeper than that."
Shearston says she knows many couples who embarked on a similar journey and went on to lose everything. She says it was mutual respect, openness, trust and a willingness to communicate that prevented a similar fate.
"You're not with someone for nearly 10 years without being really good friends," Bonnie continues. "It was just uncomfortable for a while. But as much as it wasn't fun, we both knew that, fundamentally, we could work together, and there was just no point to throwing that away... Anyway, now Tom's moved-in next-door to me…" they laugh again.
"After all, he is my best friend."
Currently the pair own just two venues, Coppa and Red Hook, with a combined turnover of $3 million. It's also the first time in close to a decade that they aren't in business with anyone else, splitting the business 50/50. They are keen to expand to Asia, and possibly elsewhere overseas - a feat they believe they may be more likely to manage now they're no longer a couple.
"And it's great," says Bonnie.
But there is a sense both of them are just relieved to have found a place of relative calm for now. They talk about enjoying free weekends for the first time in a long time. Sanceau is developing an interest in exercise and is travelling a lot. Shearston has more opportunities for friends, rugby and her motorcycle.
"We came out to Australia together," says Sanceau. "We had a plan and a vision. There are still things that we want to do together. We've gone on from the difficult stage now."
"I don't look back at anything we've done over the past eight years with regret," Shearston adds. "I'm immensely proud of what we've achieved; we've given it our best.
"Now we've got a chance to stop and smell the roses."
Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau's 10 tips for running a small business
- Don't double check things, triple check things; be vigilant.
- There's got to be trust, but that doesn't mean you trust blindly.
- Never make assumptions.
- Spend time working out your goals before you begin.
- Develop a clear set of business objectives and a path to achieving them.
- Work out what your focus is; perhaps one path means less profit, but more satisfaction.
- Have a clear vision, and if you've got partners, make sure it's a shared one.
- Be willing to keep key people with you.
- Recognise when something isn't working and deal with it.
- Keep your communication open and honest.