Vex Dining is turning five, an achievement in itself considering the peaks and troughs of the past half-decade, but perhaps more impressive is the team’s unfaltering commitment to an experience that’s familiar where it needs to be, all the while feeling new and exciting and delicious whenever guests take a seat in their High Street restaurant.
Here’s Flo with how they do it, and how they stay consistently “left of centre” among a competitive market.
How did you get your start?
I started cooking in Perth, before spending time in Austria and at The Clove Club in London. Owen had been managing at Marion.
The concept for Vex had been floating around for a few years, waiting for the right time and importantly the right place. We were born in the depths of lockdown. Work was uncertain and the pull of being our own bosses was too strong to resist. The previous owner of the space that became Vex wanted out really bad and we saw an opportunity. We fitted it out ourselves on a tiny budget with the help of some friends and family. As soon as lockdown lifted, we were somewhat ready.
What do you think it is about your venue that has gained traction in Melbourne?
Our approach from the beginning was to build slowly and sustainably, which meant our form of traction had to be more about quality than quantity. Consistency has also been a major factor in what we do. The two of us are always here working and this presence has helped so much in getting to know our locals. Building those relationships over the years has been our goal and seeing people returning is what drives us.
Is there any other special sauce to what you do?
The special sauce is in the daily rituals, wanting to keep working on our craft. We never intended on being a finished product, so working every day on creating and refining what we do is the key. This goes hand in hand with always trying to be open-minded to change and new ideas from outside the business and from the great people who have worked with us.
Any regrets?
Occasionally we forget to enjoy the process. You can get really swept up in the stresses which is totally understandable. So reminding yourself why you’re doing this and taking a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come is important.
What about the big lessons learned?
The first few years of running your own venue is full of big lessons. The most important thing is to take those lessons on board and not let them bring you down. Everyone makes mistakes when they start out. Take the time to listen to those with experience for guidance, but also don’t be afraid to be back yourself and find solutions through thinking creatively. It always surprising what can be achieved when you take the time to look inwards to find the answers.
Any tips on building a great team and workplace culture?
A great team can create a great workplace culture and vice versa. Hiring the right people is so important in any business, small or big. Start with bringing in people who share the same values as you.
Maintaining that culture requires plenty of compassion and honesty. Make clear your expectations, but also realise that we are all individuals that need different things. Don’t expect everyone to see things the same way you do, different people have very different motivations. But make sure you offer support professionally and personally when it’s needed. If the culture is good, the difficult conversations feel easy.
You hear some operators and punters concerned that groups are starting to dominate hospitality in Australia. What’s your take on that?
All great food cities have a strong independent restaurant scene, dotted amongst big hospitality groups. It’s currently a tricky climate for most of us, but the groups with big investment can bleed a little longer and afford to dedicate more in terms of marketing. The biggest issue is venues from larger groups are becoming more and more homogenous, with copy and pasted concepts that are designed to make money above anything else. Creativity, ingenuity and above all else unique experiences get lost in that kind of a landscape.
But at the end of the day it’s up to us as independents to keep fighting and make it clear what and who you’re supporting when you visit us. Melbourne’s dining landscape is made up of lots of wonderful small venues doing interesting things with immensely talented people. We need to grow the demographic of people that care about that.
Times are tough right now. How are you adapting?
We feel like we’ve been adapting since day one so we’re already used to it. No two years have been the same since we opened. Times definitely are tough, so we’ve had to put a little more effort into doing events and taking on extra services here and there. We’ve made sure that all of those extra things are with or for people that we align with, which has made it truly rewarding.
Any advice for other operators who are hurting?
Most importantly you need to stay positive, both for your own mental health and for the sake of the people you work with. Easier said than done, but it does have a knock-on effect. We’ve found it important to stay flexible. Nothing should be set in stone. Constantly tweaking what you’re doing and running little experiments to see what works is always worthwhile. As long as it’s something that is authentic to who you are, then give it a go.
Who do you look to in Victoria for inspiration? Which venues and people set the bar for you?
There’s so many to choose from! We love places like Embla, a true embodiment of Melbourne’s hospitality – creative, consistent and delicious. The team from the Conferre Group are great, Andreas has to be the hardest working person in the city. Locally, we also love what Adam [Racina] and his crew do up at La Pinta. Outside of Melbourne we have so much respect for the small independent operators with a true love for produce like Bar Merenda in Daylesford and Chauncy in Heathcote. We just wish they were a little closer to home.
Best case scenario, how do you want people to think about what you do?
We’d love people to feel the care and thought that our team puts in every day. We hope people can see and embrace the effort we put into creating a unique dining experience. Hopefully people can see that we find joy in the process of running our little restaurant and that we take what we do seriously but are still just a bunch of goofs.
Vex Dining, 66-68 High St, Northcote, open 5pm-11pm Tues-Fri, 3pm-11pm Sat, vexdining.com, @we_are_vex