Inner City Life Running a Brewpub In Parnell, Auckland
Twofold is the brewpub that offers more than you'd expect, cofounded by Streetdog owner John Austin.
Words by Mathew (FTN’s marketing guy).
When John first arrived in New Zealand, he knew exactly what he wanted to do – beer. He loved beer, brewing it, and fermentation.
Back in the United States, where John was born, he started homebrewing and worked for a small mountain town brewery in Colorado. After moving to New Zealand, he got into importing and distributing craft beer, before eventually opening Twofold brewpub in Parnell, Auckland.
If you haven’t visited Twofold yet, you’re missing out. Despite being in an inner-city neighborhood, it has that warm and welcoming vibe typically found in a small-town brewery. Twofold also boasts a surprisingly classy food and drinks menu with something for everyone, making it perfect for almost any occasion – even date night.
I’ve been there a few times now, and it’s clear how much work goes into running Twofold. So, I wanted to sit down with John to learn more about how the Streetdog fits into his busy life:
“There are weeks when I’m opening and/or closing the bar, being the duty manager, managing the staff, doing admin, and planning. I’m still finding the rhythm and the best way to balance everything, but one handy thing is that bike. It’s just so convenient for whipping around town and running errands, like bank runs, for example. The closest ATM where I can deposit notes is in Newmarket. In a car, it could take 5 minutes or 20. On the Streetdog, it’s always about 3 minutes. There have been days when I come in at 10:30am or 11, read the notes from the night, and it says we desperately need $2 coins. And it’s like, ‘Okay, I can do that.’ But if I had to use the car, it would be a lot more effort. The Streetdog has been super handy for things like that.”
“But the main reason I wanted a motorised bike in the first place was after having a kid. I wanted to be able to zip home easily. I knew I’d be doing that a lot – young baby at home, you never know when you’ll get the call to come help. This was before starting Twofold, but riding a bike took about 15 minutes, whereas the Streetdog gets me there in 5 minutes or less.”
So, why did you choose the Streetdog over another bike?
“The electric side and the design. I saw it as a bike of the future with a classic look, and it nails that. When you look at everything else on the market – whether it's a 50cc or an electric scooter – they just seem to take a basic Vespa design and make it as cheap as possible. I’ve always thought old-school Vespas are pretty cool, and I considered getting one, but I like that the Streetdog is built in New Zealand and has real craftsmanship. So yeah, it’s a bike of the future that looks like a classic, and I think that’s awesome.”
How does the Streetdog fit into your week?
“It’s my daily commute to and from work, and the other great thing is free parking. Parking around here is pretty expensive, so any kind of bike or scooter is perfect for that. I can go back and forth multiple times a day without stress. Plus, for errands, I can fit things in the bike or a backpack. Grocery trips are so much more fun. Auckland’s a great city for it. You can zip around the entire inner city in 50km speed limit zones – from Parnell to Mission Bay, Newmarket to Grafton, Grey Lynn to Ponsonby - that whole loop back to the CBD is so easy to whip around. Any business stuff, running errands, or visiting people – the Streetdog is ideal for all of it."
