Food&Wine * The Chairmakers Wife * R&R

Today’s feature story just happens to be about my most FAVOURITE little bar The Chairmakers Wife. It’s an absolute stand out! As unorthodox as it is laid back, this HANDSOME shop-by-day, bar-by-night has a singular HANDCRAFTED identity all its own. Only recently opened in Kyneton’s Piper Street, The Chairmakers Wife already feels like an institution.

Enter off the verandah via a homely front door into a former weatherboard period house to behold exactly what we’ve come to expect, love and admire of talented husband and wife team Glen and Lisa Rundell of Kyneton’s chairmaking and lost trades store Rundell & Rundell. Dark walls and rich timbers play canvas to a growing collection of ‘woodcutter cool’: antlers, vintage furs, taxidermy, cow hides and leather smoking lounges. A handmade canoe by Tim McLeod hangs from the ceiling overhead (ask Glen & Lisa the story behind it – it’s what makes ‘R&R’ so admirable and inspiring!) while a rare British hood skittles game sits fireside. The pièce de résistance is a delicious nude ‘Chez Agnes’ by Archibald Portrait Prize Finalist Catherine Abel that reclines above the fireplace and rivals Young & Jacksons’ iconic Chloé {Catherine features on The Countryphiles in the next couple of weeks! We’re thrilled!}.

In winter, The Chairmakers Wife gets its sexy on. Lisa’s housemade mulled wine is served fireside in the warm, moody, cocooning interiors. In summer, a mixed crowd enjoys a chilled cider in the north-facing, sunlit, brick courtyard perched atop a collection of antique and timber bench seats handmade by Glen.

Replete with leather apron and tweed cap, Glen tends the hunting lodge-esque bar that stands betwixt three intimate and interlinked rooms while Lisa mulls the wine, stokes the fire and exchanges engaging stories with guests of overseas adventures, great garage sale finds and the inspirations of local artists and artisans.  A judicious drinks list includes local and favourite Sparklings, Whites, a French Rosé, Reds, Ciders and Beers. Aside potato crisps, it’s BYO bar food to share, which adds to the already convivial atmosphere provided by Glen and Lisa whose inimitable generosity and jovial story-telling personalities shine.

Locals mix with out of towners at this stellar bar. Small groups and couples cosy up with equivalent ease. Perfect for a few drinks after work or a pre dinner wind-up or post-dinner wind-down after an evening spent at one of the town’s quality restaurants. The bar effortlessly plays host to a myriad of moods from Bastille Day celebrations to a night of impromptu ukulele playing. The Chairmakers Wife is a striking hostess and ambience is king.

If this all sounds way too good to resist, you can up the ante and book in to stay overnight at ‘1774‘ a gorgeous country home, which has very reasonable rates and is within walking distance of the bar {good thinking!}, restaurants and all that Kyneton has to offer. What are you waiting for? Enjoy! x

Tell us a little bit about your place/s of origin/background/s – what path led you to where you are now?

We were both living in and working in the city after growing up in the country, me in Gippsland and Lisa in Macedon. We had been thinking of our ideal business in the country when we sat down one night and just decided to do it. Can’t die wondering about these things.

Your chairmaker and lost trades store Rundell & Rundell turns into a bar on Friday and Saturday nights. How did this unique and wonderful idea come about?

The Chairmakers Wife part of the business came about from buying a shop which used to be a restaurant & had an existing liquor licence & locals telling us that a relaxed wine bar was missing in town. We often joke that the bar is for our enjoyment but we enjoy company when we have a drink!

Tell us the story behind the name ‘The Chairmakers Wife’?

Well, it was quite simple really. It’s a reflection of some of the quite quirky pub names that you would find across England. The Lincolnshire Poacher, The Fox and Hound, The Farmers Arms; that sort of thing. There were dozens of meanings associated with these names, from political undertones, locations, occupations,  heraldry references and even puns. The Chairmakers Wife just seemed right and had a good ring to it.

We all enjoy drinking beautiful wines and ciders! But what is it like to own and run a bar?

It’s great. We can’t say we ever thought we were going to be licensees, but we do enjoy it. It’s a chance to catch up with locals at a time when they are more relaxed. We also meet lots of people coming up from Melbourne to Kyneton for the day or weekend, which is interesting .

As well as reds, whites, sparklings, you are renowned for your mulled wine in winter. Tell us what criteria you use to select your drinks list?

We try to include a good deal of local product. From Harcourt beers and ciders, to wine from Hanging Rock, Heathcote and even Kyneton. Then, there’s a few that have been favourites of ours for years and it seems they are rapidly becoming local favourites too.

Your little bar oozes atmosphere. A nude by Catherine Abel reclines above the fireplace an upturned canoe hangs from the ceiling. Snow shoes and fox furs grace dark moody walls. Tell us about the bar’s aesthetic?

It’s pretty much the ‘stuff’ we like and showcase for other talented crafts people; like Tim McLeod who made the canoe. We have an eclectic taste in ‘stuff’ and so if it appeals we hang it on the wall or hang it from the ceiling! Catherine’s painting was a true bonus. ‘Chez Agnes’ is to The Chairmakers Wife what Chloe is to Young & Jacksons.

You’ve both lived in a city and enjoyed its nightlife. What is it like to run a bar in a small country town?

Different to anything in the city. A lot of bars in Melbourne seem to want to jam as many people in the door as physically possible and be everything to everybody. We like people to come in and relax and not feel like they are in a sardine tin or that they have to scream to hear each other. Our favourite nights have been when people come in and play an instrument by the fire. We’ve had everything from harmonica, uklelele, guitar and harp. We also have what we call ‘reverse BYO’. It’s where you bring your own food. Robert brings in pizzas from his own pizza oven, others get them from Pizza Verde down the road. We even work in with Nola Poorboy, locals Nigel and Anje, who have their Cajun-inspired food van that parks on a spare block a few doors down on Piper St. It’s all good fun.

Do you consider yourselves to be ‘Countryphile/s’? Do you love country life? Why?

The air, the people, the space. What’s not to love? Yes, to all of the above … I’ll drink to that!

What does a typical day in the life of Lisa & Glen ‘The Chairmakers Wife’ owners look like; from when you wake to when you go to sleep?

Well, if you take a Friday. It’s up at 7am and getting Tom ( 6 yrs) ready and off to school. Lisa preps and opens the shop, stocks fridges for the bar and catches up with any last minute admin.  Glen heads down to the workshop where he could be doing any of a number of things from milling logs into furniture timber, making a Windsor chair to order or teaching a client or two to make their own chair. Collect Tom at 3.25.  At around 4pm Lisa will start to do the change over from shop to bar, re-organising stock organising seating and tables. About the same time Glen will chop firewood for the 2 open fires then cart it to the shop and light the fires. At 5pm the bar’s open. A shower and quick change and Glen comes in to run the bar til closing at 11pm. It’s a long day.

What aspect of country life are you loving MOST at the moment?

Right now, that our business is travelling along ok and is resonating with people. That our leap of faith to move to the country and change our lives completely has all been worth it.

What do you consider the most CHALLENGING aspects of country life?

Which farmers market to head to on any weekend that doesn’t clash with the good garage and clearing sales! Tough stuff.

When not drinking mulled wine, do you prefer Coffee or Tea? Your favourite country café and why?

Coffee, coffee,  coffee.  We have 3 favourites. In no particular order, Monsieur Pierre, Inner Biscuit and ST. Beans Provedore.  They all make great coffee and they all know how we like it and get it right every time. We are spoilt for choice here in Kyneton.

What and where was the last great meal you enjoyed/shared in the country?

There’s been quite a few. But the last one would have been a burger and champagne at the bar at Annie Smithers Bistrot just before she left for Trentham.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Working. We pretty much work 7 days a week and two nights … unless it’s very early and we’re at a garage sale or market!

YOUR country town’s best kept secret?

The river walk to the Botanic Gardens from Piper Street along the Campaspe River. ( Picking Blackberries along the way in Feb…. )

What can we expect NEXT from you/The Chairmakers Wife in the future?

There’s so much that we would like to do, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that there are only two of us and no behind-the-scenes helpers. Spring and Summer at the bar should be great with more emphasis on the courtyard out the front and perhaps some local musicians playing during the evening. Wine lists change with the seasons too and we have some great new drinks in mind for summer … along the lines of our Winter Mulled Wine.

What are you looking FORWARD to and why?

Sleep. Spring and space. Sleep – we don’t get enough. Spring – it’s pretty chilly here in Winter and Spring in Kyneton is very colourful. Space- we live behind the shop in a shoebox, it’s less than 5 squares and a bit tight for space.

What would be your dream project?

What we are doing is about as close as I think we’ll come to any dream project. A bar and business that is loved and frequented by locals and travellers alike is a pretty good thing. Having said that … a nice old country farm house on a bit of land would be nice!

Can you list for us 5 specific things you turn to/do when you need of a ‘dose’ of city life? {The Countryphiles adores their ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ offerings}

Lisa
1. Camberwell Market early on a Sunday.
2. Walking the length of Collins Street window shopping.
3. Going to Leo’s Supermarket! It’s a continental deli on steroids!
4. A coffee in Degraves Street Melbourne.
5. Good Thai or Vietnamese food in Fitzroy or Richmond.

Glen
1. Lasagne or Cannelloni at Pellegrinis Espresso Bar in Bourke Street.
2. Having a glass of something with Alan Watson at Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar in Carlton.
3. A Vietnamese soup in Victoria Street Richmond.
That’s about it…. there’s not much I miss down there!

The Chairmakers Wife
29 PIPER STREET
KYNETON
Glen: 0412 440 895/Lisa: 0412 363 632
Friday: from 5:00pm till late
Saturday: from 5:00pm till late