Match Bar (Bar of the Year Australian Bar Awards 2011) has closed its doors after a three year tenure. “We would like to thank you all for your patronage and friendship for the last three years,” said bar manager Russ McFadden, and the Match team, when confirming the news recently.
News
The latest bar and bartender news.
It was a bit early to get the name – there were a few floating around – and ideas for the menu were not yet nailed down, although ‘south of the boarder’ down Central America way was the idea. “Creole, gumbo and an open Taco station with hand pressed Tortillas,” Mills suggested. Despite these miner details the duo seemed relaxed about the proposition of another bustling Bondi venue to manage.
Keystone’s new direction is set to get a nice splash of sun in the near future with John Duncan and Paul Schulte (pictured r-l) confirming that the Sugarmill will soon launch its much anticipated rooftop bar. “We’re looking to have it open in July,”
Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau, two of the masterminds behind the Australian Bar Awards’ New Bar of the Year, Canvas, have unveiled plans for their latest Brisbane venture called Public. If all has gone to plan the venue should be trading as you read this article with construction underway early in January 2012.
It’s back! And Appleton Estate Rum will be taking its annual Tiki Mug Design competition to the next level in 2012. This year’s incarnation will see the Tiki mug designed by Tiki Farm but based on the story behind the bartender who creates the best Australian Appleton Estate Tiki Cocktail.
“After a decade of being the Australia’s leading bar trade event we saw an opportunity to expand trade only format and incorporate a host of consumer focused activities to help educate todays enthusiastic consumers who are keen to learn more about premium drinks.” David Spanton – Managing Director Spanton Media Group.
Global icon Harry’s New York Bar (Paris) recently celebrated its 100th birthday – a fine notch for a venue that’s lived through two World Wars, seen countless local developments and hosted some of last century’s most famous faces.
The story began in 1911 when US jockey Tod Sloan acquired it and with the help of his friend Clancey, a Manhattan bar owner, and set about creating a unique American bar in Paris. The duo embarked on a mad-house scheme to dismantle Clancey’s NY bar and rebuild it the French capital. Clancey, it is said, was determined to escape the draconian restrictions that were being forced upon the alcohol industry in the US, and so the pair made good their dream and relocated some 5,800km away.
It might be raising political eyebrows, but plans to station US Marines in Darwin could spell a financial windfall for local bars, and potential operators. From mid-2012 the first installment of troops will arrive and by 2017 will reach over 2500.
Sydney’s Kings Cross thrived in the wake of a troop influx during and after WWII with thousands of American boys bringing their money, taste and touch to the area so a new wave of ‘Americana’ style bars might be on the horizon pending interest from potential operators. On the back of a sluggish economy, some in the Darwin hospitality scene see the proposal as a positive.
When the opening of a new bar makes it into the News pages of Bartender, it’s got to be something pretty special. Back in mid-2011 we showed off Anton Forte and Jason Scott in the midst of renovating their basement site, and now months later we’re back and The Baxter Inn is humming.
It’s a trifle hard to find, and that’s the point, but if you don’t mind walking past bins and down alleys and fire escapes then you’re in for a treat as this gem of a venue. The old unused basement is replete with Romanesque-aqueduct style brick arches, vintage memorabilia and a dark hardwood bar that runs the length of the venue.
Well known Sydney pub operators Jaime Wirth and James Miller are set to re-launch the iconic Forresters Hotel, once ‘home of the cheap steak’. With a host of successful venues already running (Norfolk, Flinders, Carrington, Abercrombie and Duke) their latest launch is set for mid-February and will showcase their love of simple, good quality and inexpensive Italian fare. “We’ll be offering pizzas, pastas and a rotisserie what will be different each day,” said Wirth.
On top of the Italian styled foods, the bar will be serving up an Italiano inspired cocktail list with Luke Ashton (Duke) preparing the offering. Miller explained that they’ve covered a range of different food styles with their current venues and that they see a good Italian offering at a pub as something that is missing from the area. Forresters is their biggest hotel yet; equal to both the Norfolk and the Carrington in capacity.
Double Bay is riding a bit of a wave at the moment, with the old Bollywood restaurant site now under the direction of a new team of talent. Andy Becher (co-owner Roxbury Hotel, Sydney), Daimon Downey (of Sneaky Sound Systems), and Charlie Hinckfuss are all involved and are set to launch the new – at print, yet to be named – venue in mid-January. The team is excited about their new bar and entertainment offering and what it will bring to the local area which has been off the radar for a while as a destination night spot.
There’s a bit of momentum behind NSW’s small bar movement at the moment, and it’s obvious. From Glebe (Mr Falcons and the Little Guy) to Redfern (The Dock) and Neutral Bay’s The Local as well as the city’s CBD there are DAs pending, doors opening and we are all benefiting from the spectrum of influences that new owner/ operators are bringing to the scene.