by Wendy Colville
Voted Best New Venue and Outstanding Bar at the Lewisham awards, Agents & Merchants has made a spectacular entry to the Auckland scene. The five shareholders have created a Boho chic style reminiscent of Melbourne, and the backstreets of Europe. Now, they’re about to wow us again with the opening of a three-level establishment in the Britomart precinct which will feature a basement cellar and cocktail lounge, an ornate mezzanine floor, and a 60-metre verandah with its own balcony and large main bar and staging area.
If that’s not enough, next door they will open a French Vietnamese restaurant which co-owner Johnny de Monchy says, “will be operated by the same people that made both Prego and Ponsonby Social Club such hospitality icons.” The whole shebang will be known as 1885 and is set to open in the first week of September.
De Monchy admits to being slightly taken back by their showing at the Lewishams. “In a way we were surprised to have taken out such a string of awards at the Lewishams as we tend to feel more comfortable operating on the fringes of the limelight as opposed to centre stage. Although it is wonderful to be held in such high regard from our peers within the hospitality industry, success and recognition comes with its own challenges and as a business we are not going to get ahead of ourselves. Perceptions of the bar have now been raised with the public and one of our core philosophies is to not only meet but well and truly exceed customer expectations and experiences.”
De Monchy and partners are also behind Christchurch’s Cartel, now trading into its third year. It’s been the template for the A &M venture and is as De Monchy describes it, a pioneer of the shabby chic look in bar design. “Cartel is very bohemian in nature and very real and I believe that the public have truly responded to its sincerity and its genuine lack of pretension. The Cartel counter culture attitude has resonated with a large group of discerning Christchurch urbanites young and old and when you throw in mulled wine, hot water bottles and a good dose of entertainment the atmosphere is always cosy, alive and inviting.”
A &M is set in a small laneway in Auckland’s downtown, and includes Racket Bar through a doorway. With tables and couches set in the lane, and shabby chic interiors it is certainly stylish, but matched by a comprehensive wine list and tapas style food.
De Monchy says, “Agents & Merchants has struck a real chord with a benchmarking audience that has grown tired of formula-driven bars and supplier controlled drinks lists. It could sit quite happily in both Paris or Melbourne and I believe that the public have responded to an emotive feeling of being transported to another location. This is a testament as much to the atmosphere in the lane as it is to our pursuit of world class standards for not only the service but also for the quality of our food and our drink.”
A&M is a discovery venue and as such it is nicely tucked away from other inner city precincts and although you won’t find A&M boasting about itself from the rooftops it is a venue that exudes quality and settles for nothing less than the best.
Twenty-nine-year-old De Monchy has worked in hospitality throughout his student days before graduating with a degree in commercial law and HR before launching Cartel in 2007. Partner Nick McCaw was the first CEO for the boutique Hotel So in Christchurch and has had the strongest hand in the design and the development of the sites. Also on board, Paul Gibbard and Gregor Ferguson both from a property background and Dana Johnston who has spent time working in hospitality in France.
The vision for 1885 is a big one, and de Monchy calls it “more New Orleans than Newmarket. We are genuinely looking to draw the heart of the Auckland hospitality scene to the heart of the city. A common theme across each of our three sites is to not only succeed with regards to New Zealand standards but to meet a certain pedigree that you would be proud of whether or not you were operating in Auckland, Sydney, London or New York.” We can’t wait!