Words Denise Irvine, Images Ashlee DeCaires
When you head down Wellington Street to Hayes Paddock in Hamilton East, a big green building stretches out before you. It’s set back from the street on a corner site, and there are typically people sitting at outdoor tables in the sun, amid kids, dogs, bikes and gardens. The Waikato River is opposite and you always can count on being well watered and fed here.
This is Hayes Common Neighbourhood Eatery, opened in 2016 by hospitality couple Lisa and Brent Quarrie, on the premise that every community needs a common hub.
Lisa and Brent are both trained chefs, and when they took on Hayes Common the ex-Aucklanders owned a cafe in Hamilton’s CBD. They were living in Hayes Paddock when the building down their street became available. They loved its unique location and they knew exactly what they wanted to do with it: create a local eatery with great food and a warm-hearted, unpretentious style.
Ten years on, just ahead of their anniversary celebrations on March 18, they’re telling Hayes Common’s story at lunch this Wednesday. The place is busy with customers and staff, Brent’s ordered the beef and lamb burger, Lisa’s having smoked fish pate, and there is a bowl of fries for Ruth (14) and Lucy (11). Their daughters were preschoolers when Lisa and Brent developed Hayes Common and nowadays Ruth works in the cafe on weekends. Brent jokes that they’re breeding their own staff.
Their maître d’, Hayden Brandt, has been with them since opening day and he’s meeting and greeting on the floor today. Head chef Dan Lawrence is at the helm in the kitchen, and other staff are taking orders, ferrying food, coffee and drinks. Brent and Lisa say they have worked with many exceptional people who have contributed to the eatery. Their own role nowadays is to be the glue that holds everything together, and let their staff shine.
On a trip to France with their children last year, they could comfortably step away knowing they’d left their restaurant in capable hands. This, they say, is a measure of success. Perhaps another one is that Hayes Common is a regular in the nationwide Cuisine Good Food Guide, and there are loyal Hamilton East customers who drop in each day for coffee, along with those who drive across town for a seat at the table.
“Our ambition was always this,” says Brent. “A space that was a good fit for locals, families, and our staff, everyone, informal but polished.”
“We felt like we were the custodians of this building, the kaitiaki,” says Lisa. “It was important that we didn’t mess it up. We wanted to do something holistic, use the space well by providing good local food, service, lighting, music – the right mix.”
Hayes Common has a long history: built in 1945, it was previously home to a butcher, grocer and dairy. Since then it has been a studio for Waikato potter Tony Sly, and its first hospitality incarnation was as Hydro Majestic Café.
The premises sit at the heart of Hayes Paddock, which was developed as a bold new garden suburb between 1939 and 1945. More than 200 state houses were built in the area and it is now protected on Hamilton’s district plan as a heritage precinct.
Brent and Lisa’s customers frequently share stories of living in the neighbourhood and have fond memories of the former shops. “The building has always been something to somebody,” says Brent.
It was looking tired when Lisa and Brent bought the lease in 2015, and it was a much bigger undertaking to refurbish it and get new compliance than they’d envisaged. They spent months creating the interior design with Auckland company Material Creative, and working on graphics and branding with Hamilton’s Allan Deare, of Area Design.
“We wanted it to look like it had always been here, with a patina of its own and colours taken from the immediate environment,” says Lisa.
For the menu, the plan was always to use as many local food suppliers as possible and to develop dishes that reflected this, with robust, flavourful, textural ingredients. Familiar but with a twist, Lisa says. Hayes Common crowd favourites, such as bao buns, miso potatoes and duck wings, will be a must-do on celebration menus planned for this month.
Sustainability has been at the core of Lisa and Brent’s business, from eating seasonally and using regional suppliers, to practices such as growing some of their own vegetables, recycling packaging, using rescued fruit, and reducing food waste through their well-researched onsite hot composting system.
Crucially, Hayes Common is currently diverting around four tonnes of food waste from landfill every year and the business is part of the Kai Keepers pilot programme, aimed at measuring and reducing food waste nationally.
Lisa is now looking to share her knowledge on waste reduction with hospitality businesses who want to do similar work. She is also involved with hospitality initiatives at Tourism Waikato, and is the Restaurant Association’s Waikato branch president.
“Our key mantras are sustainability, community and team work,” she says. “We’ve kept innovating and we’re proud of being part of the Hamilton food scene since 2007. We’ve watched it grow and diversify and we think we’ve added to it. We really feel like we belong here.”
While Lisa and Brent may make hospo look seamless, they’re quick to say they’ve made every mistake possible. They’ve also navigated the challenging years of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as two rounds of disruptive road-works outside their restaurant, and more recently the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
These things have all had an impact on customer numbers and staffing, and at times they’ve adapted their opening hours to better ride the changes.
They made a hard decision to pull their night-time service post-Covid but say it is important to keep reviewing things. “We understand the work and we can see things that need fixing, and do it quickly,” says Lisa.
But if they take something out, what do they replace it with, and maintain their reputation for consistency? Nowadays they are focusing on some great special events; they’re open daytimes, Wednesday to Sunday, and doing Friday and Saturday dinners during daylight saving months.
Lisa and Brent say they’re proud that after 19 years of working together, they’re still in hospo, still enjoying it, and they still love each other, and their solidarity as a couple has got them through some tough circumstances. “We can both do everything,” says Lisa. “We can back ourselves. It was always our goal to be our own bosses, have something with our own signature.”
Hayes Common
33 Jellicoe Drive, Hamilton East
www.hayescommon.co.nz
Haye’s Famous Miso Potatoes
Recipe: Lisa Quarrie from Hayes Common | Photography: Brydie Thompson
If you haven’t tried these moreish potatoes you’ve been missing out!
2 large Agria potatoes or 2 cups baby (gourmet) potatoes
1 cup aioli or mayonnaise
1 tsp miso paste
½ cup grated Pecorino cheese (or Grana Padano)
1 spring onion
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
Cut potatoes into even chunks or keep whole if using baby potatoes. Place potatoes into cold water and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until tender, approx. 25 minutes.
Drain and gently crush the potatoes. Place on a baking tray and coat in olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Bake at 200°C until golden and crispy on the outside.
Meanwhile, mix the aioli or mayo with the miso paste and whisk to combine.
To serve, combine potatoes, miso mayo, spring onion and Pecorino in a large bowl and mix until evenly coated. Serve with extra grated Pecorino on top.