Heather spoke about her route into hospitality, the challenge of opening the business and the experience she wants customers to find at BĀDŌ.
James: Tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up? What was family life like?
Heather: I grew up in Irwin, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. My parents divorced when I was young, and my mum remarried. We didn’t have much money, but food and hospitality were always a big part of family life. My mum dabbled in catering, we were always cooking something from scratch, and my sister eventually went to culinary school. I think that’s where my instinct for hosting and making people feel welcome started.
I was the first person in my family to graduate from university. I worked my way through it, including jobs at places like The Cheesecake Factory. Deciding to go to university felt like a deliberate choice to do something different and change the trajectory for my family. Since then, more of my siblings and cousins have gone on to university too.
After graduating, I got a job at Westinghouse, working in nuclear project management. I had studied Mandarin in uni so ended up working on projects related to building plants in China. I never considered moving abroad but I ended up getting meningitis in 2011 which was a turning point for me. I had grown up, studied and worked in Pittsburgh, and after that, it was time for a major change.
I sold everything I owned, moved into a friend’s house and painted the interior to cover my rent, before heading over to live in Sydney in 2012.
James: What did you bring from your time in Australia into BĀDŌ?
Heather: The whole name actually - Bado is my nickname. During my time at Groupon my mates gave me the nickname because my surname is Baden, and . in Australia anything and everything gets an ‘o’ on the end, so I became BĀDŌ.
This was a point in my life when I was really thriving, succeeding and enjoying life. So, now, anytime I need to feel empowered, I embody this alter ego of Bado. Sometimes even throwing on silver brogues from back then. When I needed to throw everything in and succeed (building BĀDŌ), I figured there was no better name to put above the door..
James: What was it like setting up a wine bar?
Heather: Really, really hard. People told me it would be hard, and I thought: ‘I know. I’ve got this.’ It’s been worth it, but hard.
I was made redundant from ISG in September two years ago. About 2,500 people lost their jobs overnight. I quickly moved into something else and that didn’t work out. I also had things going on in the States with my grandparents, so I sat back and thought: ‘I need to reassess.’
I considered starting a sustainability consultancy, but I was quite burnt out. I have always enjoyed natural wine bars around London (and globally), and I live in East Village. I was sitting at Nektar Deli in Shoreditch with a friend in September last year and said: ‘I think I’m going to start a wine bar.’ I had a 70-page business case finished by October.
The business case was accepted by Get Living in December, but I didn’t sign the lease and get the keys until 30 April. In the background, I was reaching out to contractors and working things out. The interior design was my brain, a close friend and Pinterest. The fit out was a labour of love where my friends and I painted, stripped things and cleaned. We opened on Monday, the 8th of June 2026.
James: How are you feeling seven weeks in?
Heather: Really well! I am exhausted, but it’s really good. The community in this village is something I’ve never experienced before. I lived here for over 2 years before opening BĀDŌ and only since opening have I really come to know my neighbours (and the dogs!). They truly are the best part of doing this.
Business is going well - people love the coffee in the day and hanging for wine in the evening. I’ve said it and others echo that we really needed a place like this in the area.
During the day, we wanted people to have a cosy place for coffee. We focus on very specialty coffee, roasted by The Roasting Shed on Hornsey Road, and we’re evolving that to include pour-overs and V60s, which you can’t really find around here.
We wanted a cosy spot where people could come and chill, more like sitting in their living room. For the first four or five weeks, I did very little advertising because I wanted to give the village a chance to come in and become part of it. It has become this local neighbourhood spot..
The experience is about giving the area a place where you can bring a book and have a glass of wine. You can sit at the bar and chat with me, or grab a glass or a beer on your way home and chill out.
James: So, you wanted to do something unique with your wine selection?
Heather: Absolutely! On a sustainability front, we want to work with small wine producers, low or no intervention wines, with nothing added or taken away, and a focus on the purity of creating good wine using ethical farming practices. Most of our importers are smaller importers, so we support small businesses here and abroad.
We have wine from all over Italy, France, South Africa, Slovenia, Slovakia, the US, Australia, New Zealand and more! And the list is expanding. This area is so diverse and so I wanted to share with people that natural wine is not some niche thing from one or two places. You can get it from almost any country.
James: What’s your approach to hiring? Are you gut-driven or really super-structured?
Heather: It’s kind of gut-driven. Oli and I met and became friends when he ran the wine stall at Victoria Park Market. Finn was working at Berber & Q, the Moroccan grill house in Haggerston, when I met him (and I mentioned I was planning on opening). When we later advertised for a junior sommelier, he sent his CV and he joined pretty soon after.
At first it was me and Oli Hudson, our 'wine guy', doing everything - working more than 60 hours a week. People also got in touch through Instagram, so we brought some in for trial shifts and saw what their wine knowledge was. As the business evolves, we’re bringing in people with all-round experience in wine, coffee and food. It is still such early days.
James: If you were to meet somebody who wanted to start something like this, what would you say to a budding entrepreneur?
Heather: It’s going to be hard, as everybody tried to tell me. Be structured, but allow for flexibility and freedom. I came in with all guns blazing, thinking I was going to open in a couple of months. It takes a lot longer than you think.
Have a good support system because there are days when you think: ‘I’m not doing this any more.’ Things are going to go wrong almost every day. During our first evening service, a pipe started leaking in the kitchen. It’s hard, but it’s so fun and so worth it.
There is a lot of problem-solving. The numbers are always going to look scary. Get yourself a good accountant and lawyer, and budget more than you think you need.
James: Are there any other places around this area that you particularly like?
Heather: My retreat is La Regret in Leyton. When I want a glass of wine, I’ll venture over there or go to 107 in Clapton. I love going to Mother Kelly’s next door and supporting the businesses around here. Crate was a longstanding haunt for me before I was here every night, and I sometimes have a sundowner at Tina, We Salute You.
When I get out, I still try to stay in a greener area, so I’ll go to Victoria Park or Victoria Park Village. I also love Sune on Broadway Market. It has some of the most amazing food and wine.
James: What would you want readers of this interview to think of in their mind’s eye when they hear of BĀDŌ?
Heather: Don’t think of your typical wine bar. Come and sit in a cool oasis. We’re right across from a pond and surrounded by trees, and it’s really calming. BĀDŌ has good tunes at the weekends but nothing so loud that you can’t hear yourself talk. Expect amazing wines.
It has a very European feel on the outskirts of London, right here in Stratford. BĀDŌ has a homey feel. It’s like going to your friend’s place for a good glass of wine.