Odd Culture Group, known for shaking up Sydney’s hospitality scene with a strong focus on inclusive and diverse brands, food and drinks, is set to launch its first Melbourne venue this May. The group will open a unique iteration of its Newtown venue, Odd Culture – a bar and bottle shop in one located on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy led by General Manager and Melbourne hospo legend, Gerry Nass. Follow the journey at @oddculturefitzroy.
Odd Culture Group has experienced significant growth over the last three years with the portfolio expanding to include beloved Sydney restaurants and pubs such as Odd Culture Newtown, Odd Culture Bottle Shop, The Duke of Enmore, The Old Fitzroy Hotel and The Oxford Tavern. The team’s concept-first philosophy focuses on creating venues that are welcoming and thoughtful, and embody the principles of genuine hospitality. This means no pokies or other B.S., but a deeply shared passion for creating places that represent our communities’ values and the pleasure of good food, drink, and experience.
The group will open a unique iteration of its Newtown venue, Odd Culture – a bar and bottle shop in one located on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy led by General Manager and Melbourne hospo legend, Gerry Nass.
CEO, James Thorpe, has felt like venturing to Melbourne is a natural progression for the group for some time, and with Fitzroy being the equivalent of Melbourne’s Newtown in a lot of ways, they saw an opportunity to bring their award-winning Odd Culture concept down South. The hybrid bar and bottle shop will be located in a beautiful heritage building that used to serve as Fitzroy’s Post Office a few generations ago.
Thorpe said, “We’re excited to meet our neighbours and those we’ll be working alongside to hopefully add our little take on creating great experiences with food and beverage; something Melbourne is already known to do so well. I think there’s a place for our perspective—a bit of strangeness is usually welcomed—and diverse perspectives are what allow our industry to be so central to the lives of people.”
Group Beverage Manager, Jordan Blackman, who is responsible for curating and tailoring the group’s drinks offerings, said: “We want Odd Culture to be the place to go if you need good booze, full stop. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the country you can get as pointy-end and specialised in both beer, wine, cocktails… and you can still just sink an ice-cold lager at the bar if that’s all you’re after. We just want there to be no question around if Odd Culture has something for you. We love Cantillon, but we also love Reschs (sorry, I mean Melbourne Bitter..).”
ODD CULTURE: Shop 1/296 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy @oddculturefitzroy oddculture.group