NATHAN SASI
AYEARAFTEROPENINGADELAIDE’S
LEIGHSTREETWINEROOM,CHEF
NATHANSASI HASDECIDED TOSTEP
AWAYFROM THEKITCHENASHE
FOCUSES ONGROWINGAMORE
SUSTAINABLE, DIVERSE BUSINESS.L
eighStreetWineRoomis myfirstventure
fullyownedbymyselfandmywife,Sali.
I’mfromSydney,butmywifeis from
Adelaideoriginally.It wassoupliftingto
createit fromthegroundupandnailtheconcept.
Whenweopenedtherewasa hugesnowball
effect– weweresogratefultogetsomeincredible
reviews.Whenwehadtocloseit waslikebeinghit
bya truck.Wewerequestioningif weweregoing
tomakeit totheotherside.It tookusa goodweek
togatherourthoughts,reassessthelandscape,and
workoutif wehadthementalcapacitytomakeit.
Wehadputeverythingwehadfinanciallyand
mentallyintothisbusiness– it feltlikeourlives
wereontheline.I wondered,“Isthissomething
I actuallywanttodo?OrdoI justthrowinthetowel
andmoveon.”Butwealsohadresponsibilitiesto
ourchildren,toourstaffandtoourlandlord.After
thatweekwelookedat oursupportsystemsandour
landlorddroppedtherent,sowefeltlikewecould
justtryourbesttonavigatethroughthis.
Whileclosedweshiftedintowinedelivery,
whichwecalledJuiceTraders.It wassomething
we’dalwayswantedtodo– it’samazingthegreat
opportunitiesthatcancomeoutofa badsituation.
I’malsonolongerinthekitchen.I workedforNeil
PerryforfiveyearsandI alwaysadmiredhim– he
wasthereinthebusinesseverysingleday,butnot
alwaysinthekitchen.I’vegottentothepointinmy
careerwherespending 80 hoursinthekitchenisn’t
thebestwayformetoevolvethebusiness.We’ve
justannouncedJakeKellie,fromBurntEndsin
Singapore,as ourheadchefandpartner.Having
someonelikeJakewithsuchtalentleadingtheteam
allowsmetostepsideways.NowI canfocuson
workingonratherthaninLeighStreetWineRoom.
Inmy 20 yearsasa chefI’veprobablyhadthree
monthsoffintotal– I hadmoretimeoffinthe
shutdownthanI havehadinmywholecareer.I’ve
seenwhata normallifecanlooklike– relaxing,
exercising,eatingwell.Hospitalityis a hardjob–
andif youdon’thavethedrive,youwon’tsurvive.
Thisforcedstophasmadeusthinkabouthowwe
canmakethislifestyleandbusinesssustainable
long-term.leighstreetwineroom.com➤“Wehadput everythingwehad
financiallyandmentally into thisbusiness- it felt like our lives were on the line.”
INTERVIEWS JORDAN KRETCHMER. PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (TAKE-AWAY CARTONS) & JOSIE WITHERS (NATHAN SASI).