Mr Hannagan, of Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant, has been operating in the same premises for 17 years, surviving several economic downturns thanks to his now tried and true formula.
Bacchus recently received its 10th consecutive New Zealand Beef and Lamb Hallmark of Excellence award. Restaurants ask to be assessed and the award is open to all restaurants.
Mr Hannagan believed Bacchus would be one of the few restaurants to have 10 consecutive awards and he paid tribute to his chef of 15 years, Rosalie Lock, for providing a consistently high standard.
"Attention to detail and knowing what works keeps our standards high. We know what works but we have meetings where everybody has an input to come up with new tastes.
"With lamb and beef, it is the meat product and the accompaniments that go around it. Rosalie is a big fan of traditional tastes. She is all about stocks and flavours. That is one of the reasons we are still here."
Tied in with the good food is the front-of-house staff. Customers wanted to feel special and well looked after.
Again, that was attention to detail, he said.
"There is a hell of a lot of competition out there. It's not hard to look after people but some places don't recognise that. You don't want to try anything too radically different in a downturn. People like to know what they are getting."
Mr Hannagan started Bacchus in partnership with his brother, Timothy, with the intention of staying for two years. Seventeen years later, he still retains his enthusiasm for the business.
Bacchus started as a lunch destination with antipasto served in the evenings. The reputation of Bacchus started to spread and demand dictated that Mr Hannagan start providing evening dining.
"It's just what I do. I have a real passion for good wine and food and have worked hard on compiling a top wine list. Anybody can have a good wine list but having good food is the key to selling good wine. Having great wine and average food doesn't work."
Bacchus had been busy with evening dining for the past two months. Mr Hannagan said that reflected his attitude of being positive about what he was doing and providing a product that could withstand a downturn.
The lunch trade had slowed and he put that down to some company executives having "their wings clipped" because of the financial pressure.
The hardest thing to do right now was to withstand periods like the current downturn, he said.
Food prices had gone up sharply in recent months but Mr Hannagan had decided to not compromise standards. He continued to use beef fillet at $28 a kilogram rather than going down to rib eye or Scotch fillet.
"We do try different things, different cuts. But we don't want to compromise the end product."
Putting up prices indiscriminately was not an option as there was only so far you could go before the prices turned into those of a white linen and silverware restaurant.
Hospitality was a difficult industry in which to operate during the current times, he said.
Sometimes, Bacchus was "incredibly busy" with lots of walk-ins for dinner. But that was part of balancing the operations of the restaurant.
Repeat business was important and that was one of the main differences between Queenstown and Dunedin. In Queenstown, about 70% of custom was tourist-related and about 30% local. In Dunedin, those percentages were reversed.
Mr Hannagan's tips for a recession was building on relationships with important people like the landlord and the bank, and talking to them about any difficulties.
Keeping a good relationship with suppliers, staff and professional advisers, like accountants and lawyers, was essential.
"Communication is the key. It is better to communicate early rather than sitting back doing nothing."
The survival list
• Communication
• Good relationships with landlord, bank, suppliers, staff and professional advisers.
• Do not compromise standards
• Attention to detail
• Consistency
