The Duo Behind Ōtautahi’s First Cidery and Winery

Will Lyons-Bowman and Liam Kelleher both grew up in Ōtautahi Christchurch but travelled far and wide picking up valuable experience before teaming up in their hometown to open Lillies, Ōtautahi's first cidery, winery and restaurant.

Can you share a little of your history in hospitality, how you got started and how it led you to Lillies?
Liam [Kelleher], my Lillies partner, and I come from different but complementary hospitality backgrounds. Liam from owning and operating some of the most exciting sites in London, like P. Franco and Bright, and myself from working in some iconic Auckland and Christchurch establishments such as Ortolana and Amano in the Hipgroup days then Gatherings in Christchurch.

Since 2019, we’ve both been focussed on wine, with both of us having our own labels, Lele and Vita. In 2022, we started sharing a winery in North Canterbury, which is when the conversation about doing something together started in earnest.

The initial plan was to move the winery into town and attach a small food offering that would be open in the spring and summer months and operated by just Liam and I. That plan ballooned when the current site came

up for rent. It was way bigger than what we’d initially called for, but we went for it and with a lot of help from friends and family got stuck into turning a 250sqm warehouse into a restaurant!

With a small ‘pizza’ ‘not pizza’ menu how do you choose what makes the cut? What does the perfect pizza look, and more importantly, taste like, to you?
We are constantly changing the menu at Lillies — partly to keep things fresh and exciting for us and partly to keep things fresh and exciting for guests. We’ll change at least a couple items a week in the hope that if you come one month, you’ll get a different experience to the month before.

In a world with so many distinct and delicious styles of pizza, picking perfection is tricky. But what we’re shooting for is a thin base, chewy, charred crust, and toppings that are balanced in flavour and texture — they’re usually far from traditional and the best are often a bit out there.

Some favourites: makhani sauce, mozzarella, coriander, onion, achar masala; corn and parmesan base, charred corn, mozzarella, pickled chilli, cured lemon, marjoram; and carrot, smoked sofrito, pecorino, oregano, confit chilli, pickled carrot.

How have Christchurch locals responded to Lillies, and what do you think about the hospo scene there?
We’ve felt incredible support from Christchurch in the year since opening. The hospitality scene here is relatively small compared with Wellington and Auckland and whether it’s because of that or not, there’s a great sense of support from locals and peers alike, but also a real excitement and energy around the future of hospitality in the city.

What are your golden rules or principles you adhere to for running a successful hospitality business?
It’s really important for us that our offering is something we’re genuinely into. That is, food we really want to eat, in a space we want to spend time in, with people we enjoy hanging out with — it might seem obvious or maybe trivial but the industry is challenging enough without compromising in any of those areas. And it almost goes without saying, but without the amazing group of people that we work with, Lillies wouldn’t be a thing, so it’s very important that a fun, open and energetic work environment is created and nurtured.

What are your plans for the future — will Lillies be the start of more adventures, or continue ‘as is’?
We hope Lillies is the start of more adventures! We love food, wine, cider, people and the magic that can happen when they’re brought together in the right way. Lillies is a culmination of Liam and my separate backgrounds and years of us chatting and thinking — but there were, and still are, lots of fun concepts we’d like to bring to life.

What are your perfect drink pairings for pizza?
The perfect pizza pairing is in the eye of the beholder! But we’re suckers for a glass of our House Cider at the moment — lovely fruit, bright acid, lightly sparkling.