
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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