A modern take on enjoying wine
Oliver Brown (Ollie) is the Managing Director of The Big Easy Group, the business behind some of Adelaide鈥檚 coolest places to eat and drink, including NOLA Adelaide, Anchovy Bandit, Yiasou George, The Stag Public House, and online drinks subscription service Love and Other Drinks.
The Big Easy Group was formed following the success of Ollie鈥檚 first hospitality venue NOLA Adelaide, a New Orleans themed craft beer and whiskey bar. 听
With a Bachelor of Oenology and Viticulture from the 成人大片, Ollie鈥檚 original plan was to be making wine rather than serving it. Prior to starting NOLA, he even worked for six months at the cellar door of Penfolds, one of Australia鈥檚 oldest and most prestigious wine brands.听
But after opening a pop-up wine bar with a friend, he decided to go in a different direction.
鈥淲hen we got the licence for 鈥楻ed Trousers鈥 we were actually the third or fourth small venue licence granted in SA. It was at the beginning of this whole new movement of hospitality venues, moving from large pubs into more micro venues and small bars. It was definitely an exciting time to do hospitality differently in SA,鈥 said Ollie.
鈥淪o I loved being part of that movement and it definitely sucked me in.鈥
With the small bar movement, Ollie saw an opportunity to showcase wine differently, making it less about the bouquet and the palate and talking in depth about wine and more about enjoying great wine and food among friends.听
鈥淚 liked wine for the socialisation, and drinking it with food and enjoying it rather than knuckling down into the fine technical details. I wanted to deliver a wine bar that was less about just the wine and where it came from, and more about the company that you were drinking it with.鈥
This led to setting up NOLA Adelaide, and a string of other venues, each drawing inspiration from strong and vibrant cultures. The Stag Public House showcases Aussie culture, Anchovy Bandit Italian culture, and Yiasou George, Greek.听
鈥淲hat we love in venues is something with a vision and a soul and a purpose. I think cultures are built around a soul and a vision and a purpose in themselves. That鈥檚 around the food, or the way people interact. So every venue has a specific inspiration,鈥 said Ollie.
听鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the visuals, it鈥檚 about who we buy from, who we support and how does that tie into our mission. It ends up becoming a strong identity.鈥
By partnering with South Australians already working in hospitality, Ollie says that each venue also has its own face to the name, a local hero.
鈥淲e call Alex, [partner in Anchovy Bandit], the 鈥楳ayor of Prospect鈥 because he knows everyone out there and has such great relationships with them all. He has built such a strong community around the venue,鈥 Ollie said.
To-date, each venue鈥檚 operating partner was on the opening team at NOLA Adelaide.听
鈥淪o they have all gone from bartenders to owners in their own venue. Which we love,鈥 said Ollie.
In the pre-small bar era, Ollie said hospitality wasn鈥檛 necessarily viewed as a great career, but that is changing, and The Big Easy Group is proud to be part of that.
鈥淲e love creating these strong career paths for people to be able to own their own venues and have successful careers in something that makes them happy. That鈥檚 our mission.鈥
Story by Kelly Brown.
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