The owner of Chapel bar in Ponsonby, left, has called out HeadQuarters, right, over the owner's Facebook post. Photos / Supplied
The owner of Chapel bar in Ponsonby, left, has called out HeadQuarters, right, over the owner's Facebook post. Photos / Supplied
Two Auckland hospitality heavyweights are in a war of words after one slammed The Sugar Club at SkyCity in a Facebook post.
Owner of HeadQuarters at the Viaduct, Leo Molloy, took exception to news in the Herald's Be Well magazine that Peter Gordon's fine dining restaurant was launching a lowcarbon menu.
Molloy called Gordon's restaurant "god awful" and asked if there had "ever been a bigger wankers post in hospo".
Leo Molloy [left], seen here with Hone Harawira. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
He found a response in Luke Dallow, owner of weekend corner bar favourite Chapel Bar and Bistro in Ponsonby. Dallow called Molloy out "on behalf of operators both large and small, to ask for some calm and professionalism in your behaviour".
In an open letter to the Herald, which he also posted to Facebook, Dallow began by noting his respect for Molloy. But he went on to ask "why on earth do you continue to insult fellow industry establishments and operators who are doing their best, and succeeding, in providing Auckland with a vibrant and professional hospitality scene?"
Luke Dallow in his Ponsonby Rd bar, Chapel. Photo / Supplied
Molloy retorted: "When you live in a city that demands a certain amount of wankerage (new word) if you are to make an impression you tend to develop a certain tolerance for posers and tossers, even those from Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
"But surely this tripe from The Sugar Club exceeds all reasonable levels of 'self-pleasuring' and should come with an obligatory box of tissues."
While Dallow, who has run bars in Ponsonby and Freemans Bay for almost 20 years, applauded Molloy for "coming back from the ashes" he questioned why he "continues to insult fellow industry establishments and operators who are doing their best."
"I'm looking for a Ponsonby site and you'll have more than your hands full when I come to your part of town," he wrote in a comment on Dallow's Facebook post.
![Leo Molloy [left], seen here with Hone Harawira. Photo / Norrie Montgomery](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/2DQ34U5MXDZGTSH7OVH3JWS5ZY.jpg?auth=08d31fc4172a5c089a5d498a66474c4f5141b99f6b4a93011d0ba298edb77c95&width=16&height=24&quality=70&smart=true)
