If you enjoy sharing clever wine bar food and drinking excellenty there’s a strong chance you subscribe to the Lyndon Kubis school of hospitality. He’s the operator that brought you Collingwood’s The Moon, The Alps in Prahran and Clover on Swan Street to name just a few, venues united by both his passion for hospitality and food and drink that scream date night. As he and the team at Clover gear up for their Melbourne Food & Wine Festival slumber party, as well as Capers on The Moon, he shares with us a little hard-won hospo insight.
How did you get your start, Lyndon?
I got a job at Toorak Cellars when I was 18 – many moons ago – because I wanted to learn about wine as a bit of a side interest. At that time it was just a neighbourhood wine shop and I was at uni and working other jobs. Unfortunately, my side interest developed into a deep love affair with wine. A casual job became part-time, then full-time. I was lucky enough that the opportunity presented itself to buy the place five years later from my bosses at the time – that was in 2010.
What do you think it is about your venues that has gained traction in Melbourne?
I’d like to think it’s because we have a deep love of looking after people and giving hospitality. The offer changes between venues, and indeed has changed within some venues over time, but that guiding principle has always remained.
Is there any other special sauce to what you do?
All special sauces are of course created by Charley Snadden-Wilson, our beautiful executive chef and my business partner at Clover.
Any regrets?
I am very lucky to have very few regrets; I’m sure my greatest ones are in front of me.
What about the big lessons learned?
Patience is a wonderful thing and it aids decision making. Hospitality is an industry where pretty much everything has to fall into place for things to work. There’s not a lot of wiggle room if one or two elements don’t go your way, so slow down, over-interrogate everything, and remember something else will always come along – don’t rush into committing to a site.
What’s been the key to scaling up successfully for you?
Being very lucky to surround myself with people who are far smarter than myself.
You hear some operators and punters concerned that groups are starting to dominate hospitality in Australia. What’s your take on that?
I don’t think a quality offer and warm hospitality is diluted by having a group. If you look at the top tier of operators in Victoria you’ll find both groups and individual-owned businesses.
I don’t think the presence of groups raises any barriers to entry for those starting out, either, nor do they (depending on which group it is) dilute quality. Trader House, for instance, continues to be a benchmark of excellence, and many independent operators thrive near those places. I think we should encourage and welcome quality product and warm hospitality, no matter if that comes from an individual operator or a board.
Times are tough right now. How are you adapting?
They are. We’ve been in a pretty grim cycle, with a lot of factors beyond our control. We’re trying to control what we can by staying lean in any area that doesn’t immediately improve the guests’ experience.
Any advice for other operators who are hurting?
It’s a cycle of hardship, certainly the hardest I’ve seen in my 16 years of doing this. But those operators who’ve been doing it for 25-plus years recount numerous tough times like this (perhaps not this tough), and they do end. Weather the storm if you’re still in love with hospitality.
Who do you look to in Victoria for inspiration? Which venues and people set the bar for you?
It’s such a wonderful time to be a dining guest in Victoria. The breadth of offering has never been this good, so inspiration is easy to find. For me, I’m especially inspired by the people that have eked out a long-term career in this extremely hard industry – Jeal-Paul Prunetti at France-Soir, for example, Caterina Borsato at Caterina’s and Anthony Scutella of Scopri.
Best-case scenario, how do you want people to think about what you do?
We have a lot planned for the coming years and we hope that people associate us with an offering that is born from obsession in product and marries it with hospitality that feels like a warm hug from your grandma.
Stay up to date with Lyndon’s venues at @miltonwine, @thehillswinebar, @clover.wine, @thealpsprahran, and @winefrom_themoon.