On Monday, May 9, members of the A+ community gathered at Perry's in Collingwood for the first A+ Happy Hour, a chance to bring together some of the best minds in hospo to meet, mingle, eat, drink, and discuss one of the toughest topics in the industry: How to support families and retain staff who are looking for work/life balance. Guests mingled and caught up, enjoying wine by Blackhearts & Sparrows, cocktails by Cara Devine, beer by Balter, and food by John Henry Barbecue. 

A panel moderated by regular A+ contributor Dani Valent tied the evening together, with lots of smart conversation from panellists Bianca Dawson, the CEO of Sandhill Road, Petros Dellidis, chef at Melbourne institution Epocha, and Cara Devine, manager at Bomba Rooftop Bar and host of YouTube channel Behind the Bar. The Q&A portion of the evening was especially interesting, with voices from all sides of the equation -- owners, workers, managers and family members -- having their say.

If you'd like to keep up with future A+ events, please sign up for our newsletter. We look forward to many more evenings with good food, drink and conversation!