Charlie Lawrence was in a bar on a photography assignment in Russia when his friend turned and asked, “Do you want to buy a church?”
Lawrence, a designer and photographer based in Adelaide, was familiar with the church in question. The classic peak-topped brick building, built in 1897, is in the Adelaide Hills, and was owned by his friend and work colleague, cameraman Andy Stankovich. Who was now offering it to him. “After a few vodkas and who knows whatever else,” says Lawrence, “we struck up a deal.”
Returning home, Lawrence refurnished his new purchase and rented it out for residential use. Attention drifted to another hobby. “I’d built a wood-fired oven in my backyard in Adelaide to perfect some pizza recipes,” he says.
The two interests soon merged. “I was having a chat to my friend, Taras Ochota [from Adelaide Hills winery Ochota Barrels], and he thought [opening a pizza restaurant in my church] was a great idea,” says Lawrence. “He thought we could have a cellar-door-type arrangement and sell his wines fresh.” Lawrence engaged another handy friend, Nick Filsell, former Jamie’s Italian head chef, and brought him on board to run the kitchen. Lost in a Forest, a 48 seater wine bar and pizza restaurant in Lawrence’s church, opened in June 2016.
Saying it like that makes it sound easy. But as with any radical career switch, Lawrence had some learning to do. “I had no hospitality experience at all,” he says. “Zero. Last time I worked in hospitality I was delivering Pizza Hut pizzas back in the ’80s. But you have to back yourself.” And do an exhaustive amount of research. “I didn’t think about anything else other than this church pizza venue for three years straight.”
Having worked as a designer for 27 years, Lawrence discovered he had several transferrable skills. He designed the restaurant’s brand, logo and website, and he made extensive spreadsheets of costs and potential profit margins; floor plans; and a mood board of the colours and textures he wanted. “I had a clear idea of what it would look like before we even started,” he says.
In hindsight, Lawrence says the most important thing anyone looking to make a career change can do is be prepared for a hard work. “I pretty much resigned from my day job in March and the restaurant opened in June,” he says. “It was a three-month build of 15- to 20-hour days to put this whole thing together. We even made all the furniture.” The wood-fired oven was built, incredibly, by Lawrence and a bricklayer friend in just two days. It now sits where the altar used to be.
Lawrence says making sure all aspects of a new business are designed with a particular person or group in mind is key. “Know your market,” he says. “Be very specific about who you target. We don’t do any advertising but we target a very specific niche of people that enjoy very good wine, and want to experiment with wine and pizza.”
He says many new businesses fail simply because they try to be everything to everyone. “We don't do ham and pineapple pizza,” he says. “We don't do mainstream drinks.” At Lost in a Forest that means wine, canned beer, champagne and wood-fired pizzas.
“Write these things down before you start,” says Lawrence. “Write a business plan with all the essential things you want to do and go back to reading it every now and then.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Lawrence says to reach out. “People in hospitality like to help each other out,” he says. “It’s important to make those connections early. Find people in your space doing similar things and collaborate.”
This article is presented in partnership with Hostplus, which has your super covered no matter your role and how it changes through your career.
