How did Menagerie come about?
We got divorced in 2015, I knew I had it in me to set up and operate on my own, I was just very fearful, I was insecure and had plenty of people telling me it wouldn’t work. I had to dig deep and have some serious chats with myself, I knew if I didn’t do it I would regret it. Following the split I was feeling very low and was surrounded by a lot of negativity. I had used the businesses as a crutch while going through the divorce and now I knew I needed to make the plunge by myself. It was a case of Jump off the cliff and build the plane on the way down, I went for it.I knew I couldn’t have copied what’s been done, my new venture needed to evolve, but I was stuck in a mentality where I felt like I had it nailed. I took some time to realise things were changing, I looked at fashion brands and social media, I decided we needed to create something different, something not purely food and drink but experiential and something aimed at women. Something aimed at me, most restaurants are aimed at men, but I wanted something different.So we made it more than a restaurant, we made it fun, a free space, with a giant cat walk running down the middle for entertainers, giant frames for photo opportunities, neon lights and bath tubs, somewhere to get dressed up and have fun.