Bonny was a delightful and co-operative child, but not without spirit or sensitivity. She got into mischief now and then, but nothing egregious. At school, she did well but was, by nature, more social than studious. 

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When she first left school, she worked at a retail toy store and undertook a Certificate in Retail. When she was about 20, her then boyfriend opened a bar near Victoria Market. Bonny wholeheartely joined in the enterprise. It had its ups and downs, and after a few years, the relationship ended and the venue folded.

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Bonny had found her calling, though, and stayed in hospitality. After a couple of jobs in pubs, she got a job at Loop, a cocktail bar near Parliament House in Melbourne, where she became manager.

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In 2006, Bonny decided to take up her right to US citizenship so she could visit there and work, and to take advantage of her right as an Australian citizen to visit and work in the UK. It took her nearly a year, and the occasional anxious moment, to save up the money and arrange things.​ She planned to do a year in the US first, then move on to the UK.

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It didn't happen that way. After a short spell in San Francisco, she headed to New York City. Within a matter of weeks, she was working at 8th Street Wine Cellar. Another few weeks and she was making plans to open her own wine bar. As this plan began to take shape in partnership with the owners of 8th Street, she told me she was going to call it Bibi. That was what we called my great-grandfather, so Bonny has incorporated an image of him into the decor.

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It took her 6 years, but in April, 2014, Bibi Wine Bar opened in the East Village. 

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As I write this, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on Bibi and so many other hospitality businesses. It remains to be seen whether the business will recover.

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