Why I Opened 50-50

People often assume chefs open restaurants because they want to cook their own food, win awards, or build a reputation.

That wasn't my reason.

I opened 50-50 because I wanted to create a place that I wanted to go to.

A place where people felt comfortable. A place where they felt welcome. A place where great food was important, but where connection was even more important.

Before opening 50-50, I spent years working in restaurants where guests came and went. Every night there was a new crowd. New faces. New conversations. While there is something exciting about that, it wasn't what I wanted for my own restaurant.

I wanted to be part of a community.

I wanted to know the guests who walked through the door. I wanted to celebrate birthdays with them, hear about their new jobs, meet their friends and families, and watch relationships grow over time. I didn't want to serve different people every night. I wanted regulars. I wanted friendships. I wanted 50-50 to become a small part of people's lives.

That's one of the reasons I chose to open in Kāpiti rather than a city centre.

I believed that a great restaurant experience brings people together. Not just around a table for a few hours, but over years.

One of my favourite moments still happens from time to time.

A couple will arrive and settle into their table. Then another group walks through the door. Someone looks across the room and suddenly says, "Oh wow, I haven't seen you in ages!"

The tables get pushed together. The evening changes course. Stories are shared. Drinks are poured. Old friends reconnect.

Those are the moments I love most.

Food can start a conversation, but it's people that make a restaurant special.

The name 50-50 comes from another belief that has shaped the restaurant from day one.

Throughout my career I've seen that the best guest experiences happen when the front of house and kitchen genuinely work together. Likewise, the happiest teams are the ones where neither side sees themselves as more important than the other.

Over more than twenty years in hospitality, I've seen those two things proven time and time again.

When front of house and back of house work as one team, everyone wins. The guests have a better experience. The staff enjoy coming to work. The restaurant feels different.

I wanted that idea at the very centre of what we built.

Nine years later, I can honestly say that opening 50-50 has given me more than I ever imagined.

The friendships, the conversations, the celebrations, the regular guests who have become part of our lives, and the role that 50-50 now plays within the Kāpiti and wider Wellington community have exceeded every expectation I had when we first opened our doors.

The truth is that 50-50 wouldn't exist without our community.

Every reservation, every recommendation, every returning guest and every person who has chosen to celebrate something important with us has helped shape the restaurant into what it is today.

For that, I am incredibly grateful.

50-50 may have started as a restaurant I wanted to visit.

Over the years, it has become something much more meaningful.

It has become a place where people come together. And that's exactly what I hoped it would be.