Only four weeks after opening, a Christchurch wine bar has already built a strong repeat customer base.
Hayez, owner and cook, James Tully said he wanted the place to have the feel of a local wine bar, offering guests a good experience.
Tully, although an experienced chef, prefers to be referred to as a cook because he finds the term "chef " too pretentious. Nonetheless, he had been in cooking since he was just 16 years old. Before the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, Tully worked at JDV in Christchurch. Since then, he has run several kitchens around the world, including in Australia and the UK.
However, it was his first time running a restaurant as an owner. He said that while that came with a lot of administrative responsibility, he was also enjoying the freedom that came with being an owner.
He said he had gotten fed up with having to answer to other people and wanted to go out on his own.
“I just wanted to take the risk, so I just kind of put everything on the line,” explained Tully.
The result was Hayez, a punk-themed winebar that Tully describes as quite dark and moody.
“It’s quite a personal affair,” he said.
Tully grew up in England but also spent a lot of time in Brooklyn and was inspired by the grungy punk scene.
He fitted out the place with tables he made himself, pillows and booths made by his mother.
Tully collaborated with his friend Mike Blackburn, with whom he had bonded about punk and a shared love for food and wine. The pair designed the restaurant's food and drink menu together.
Being from the UK, Tully loves a roast and has incorporated it at Hayez on Sundays. The restaurant also features a seasonal menu of small and large sharing plates, including English classics such as the scotch egg and roast lamb rump.
Ingredients have been locally sourced, and a lot of the vegetables on the menu came from a small North Canterbury farm, Pihi Farm, including artichokes, pumpkins, garlic, and French sorrel.
He got help from Blackburn, pairing his dishes with the perfect wines to complement them. The restaurant offers a premium selection of international and locally sourced wines. There are currently about 30 bottles of wine on the menu. Blackburn also ran the front of house for the restaurant.
Tully’s vision for the restaurant has been to make a very accessible, trustworthy, local place of comfort.
“We don't take ourselves too seriously, but give a good plate of food and a nice glass of wine.”
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