Bar Liberty is #49 on the AFR Top 100 Restaurants list. Here, co-owner Casey Wall shares the lessons he learnt when opening Bar Liberty in Fitzroy, and Rockwell and Sons in Collingwood, and the wise words he received from mentors who helped him to not make a meal of it.
Opened: February 2016 Previous experience: Cutler & Co, Le Cirque
Do you have a mentor whom you rely on for advice?
Andrew McConnell [Cumulus Inc and Cutler & Co chef and owner] is a mentor, though it's more on the execution side. Business-wise, it's been a lot of trial and error. We were pretty naive and we were probably overconfident. I think there was lot of dumb luck involved.
Worst piece of business advice you've been given?
Everyone told us we were stupid [to take over the site for Rockwell and Sons in Melbourne]. At that time on Smith Street, there was nothing at the end we were at. It was kind of no-man's land, no one thought it would ever take off there. But we led the charge up Smith Street.
Biggest mistake?
Not conveying the effort that we put into what we do quite as well as we should have. There's a lot of technique, procedures, even acquiring the ingredients – we didn't know how to talk about it or word it. There's no reason there should ever be a $20 chicken parma at the pub but there are. If you have cheap food, someone along the way is getting exploited. The reason why [Ben Shewry's Ripponlea restaurant] Attica is so good is because there's a story to go with it. It's not just the food.
Moment you wished you'd taken or asked for advice?
I wish I had asked Andrew [McConnell] some more questions when we were starting. The first few months were a big struggle.
Was there a challenging situation that a mentor helped you navigate?
When we first opened Rockwell, there was some serious self-doubt. I sent emails to Manu [Potoi, co-owner] saying 'I feel like shit', 'Is this a good idea?' Just getting it out there, and not burying it inside.
Greatest success?
The staff we have and continue to keep. We try to give them as many avenues as possible to learn. If they want to learn about wine, we have [sommelier and co-owner] Banjo Harris Plane. Staff can sit in on Friday "wine school".Key learning moment?
When we opened Rockwell, I got sick. I was self-medicating, just pushing through. I had a throat infection and then it turned into sepsis. I couldn't function anymore. I was in hospital for three days, the doctors said I was one day from organ failure. If you're sick, you're sick. There's only so long you can work like a dog, you have to take some time off for yourself.
The AFR Magazine Culinary issue is out on Friday, June 30 inside The Australian Financial Review.
