Regenerative Baking #23: Telly Justice of HAGS

Regenerative Baking #23: Telly Justice of HAGS

From Regenerative Baking by Dressler Parsons

October 7, 2025 · 40 min · Episode 23

About this episode

Telly Justice discusses the innovative approach of HAGS, a fine dining restaurant that centers queerness and offers a pay-what-you-can brunch.

Could a fine dining restaurant be a place to feel at home, to eat for free? Telly Justice, head chef and co-owner of HAGS, says absolutely. Centering queerness in every corner of the restaurant and subsidizing a weekly pay-what-you-can brunch via a vibrant tasting menu the rest of the week, Telly and the rest of the HAGS team have created something remarkable in Lower Manhattan. Tune in for a chat about the freedom of pop-ups, burnout in restaurant kitchens, building a completely different kind of fine dining space, how the HAGS team collaborates on the menu, and so much more.

People in this episode

Host: Dressler Parsons

Guest: Telly Justice

Topics covered

  • fine dining
  • queerness
  • restaurant culture
  • pay-what-you-can
  • menu collaboration
  • burnout

Keywords

  • fine dining
  • HAGS
  • Telly Justice
  • queerness
  • restaurant
  • pay-what-you-can
  • menu collaboration
  • burnout

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HAGS

Places: Lower Manhattan

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