Hospo has had it hard over the last few years, so we thought we’d highlight some of our Hamilton Central Hospo Heroes
Like the Glens at Rocket who have been fuelling Hamiltonians since 1995 (I’ll do the math for you, that’s 31 years!), close behind Rocket is Scotts Epicurean, an institution in the Tron and clocking up 26 years this year. While Scotts have had several owners over their quarter of a century, they have all stayed true to the vision and remained a firm favourite of locals.
In this camp has to be the city’s most awarded restaurant, Palate, and chef Mat McLean, who just celebrated their 21st year in business in Hamilton Central.
Also in the longstanding excellence category is Suzanna Rislund Fullana and the team at Gothenburg who this year mark 17 years of serving great food in Hamilton.
And if we are celebrating longstanding members of the hospo scene we have to mention Dave Tourelle from Kopi. Dave has coached, congratulated and fuelled so many of us over many decades.
With caffeine levels sorted, let’s focus on evening libations. John Lawrenson, the King of the Southend, has kept Hamilton Central’s reputation as a great place to party, while Alex Hudson brought the cool when he opened Wonderhorse in 2012.
Wonderhorse recently moved inside the BNZ Waikato Theatre to form part of the Hamilton Hotel, a huge asset to Hamilton and the wider region. The team behind Hamilton Hotel includes Mat Pedley, the creative brain behind Mr Pickles, which has been providing cool vibes and drinks to the central city since 2018.
Going back just a decade and there was no Vietnamese offering in Hamilton Central, that was until Pat and Ann Chaimontree opened a very modest Vietnamese eatery on Victoria Street. Hamiltonians took to it and it grew into the beautiful eatery Banh Mi is today on Riverbank Lane.
In more recent times other eateries have arrived in town offering locals an alternative and proving there is an appetite for it. Hello Rosies is a totally vegan bakery in Casabella Lane run by Renae Josephs and Dan Johnstone. In London Street, Hannah Alley’s cafe The Wooden Spoon whips up gluten free options.
The above are just a snippet of the hard-working hospo people that keep our city fuelled, provide a place to party, celebrate or simply know your name and greet you with that much needed smile.
I know there are hundreds more, like Clara and Krishna at Plus 91 Cafe on Victoria Street, Laura and Mike from Dot & Winnies and of course Chrissy and Luke from Cream Eatery.