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I jokingly asked John Duncan what he thought of overseas ‘study tours’. John is the Managing Director of the Keystone hospitality group. He has 700 staff, an ever-burgeoning ar-ray of top-flight venues in his portfolio, along with a wife and two kids.

My insouciant inference was that ‘study tours’ were a great tax dodge and a nice way to treat the family to a week in Vegas under the guise of ‘market research’. John’s Ricky Ponting grin disappeared. And for a moment looked very serious indeed. “Those trips overseas are very important. New York, London, Singapore, Vegas… they allow you to get a real sense of what’s trending. I’ve found my international trips very fruitful.”Then the twinkle returned as he contemplated my original ques-tion: “‘study tour’… hehehe.”I got to asking Maria Andronis about why a coat of paint and new carpet wasn’t good enough for her James Street bistro refit?Maria is one of the family owners of the long-time Fortitude Valley favourite and she had a ready reply: “It would have been really easy to keep trading as we were, but we noticed a change in Brisbane’s dining habits and wanted to reinvest in the future.”The result is Chowhouse, a contemporary bistro that’ll no doubt serve the Andronis family well into the future.The landscape of hospitality is always changing. That much we know. And it’s often tempting to try and get ahead of the curve and really cash in. And there are always examples of where lucky/canny operators have managed to pull off the mega-coup. In Melbourne, the example of Mamasita Mexican restaurant springs to mind — what a phenomenon.But for the rest of us, sticking to the fundamentals of good venue management gets us most of the way there — to profitability, that is.But back to John Duncan: staying fresh and open minded to in-ternational influences remains of high importance to Keystone. And back to Maria: turning her back on the previous, safe (yet profitable) starter/main/dessert approach to food in favour of the more en vogue tasting/sharing plates felt very important to ensure they remained relevant.Lessons? Know that change is inevitable… desirable, even. Know that reinvention is key to longevity. Know the difference between change and vainly chasing what’s ‘trendy’.Easy for me to say, and seemingly easy to achieve if you have a warchest. But the change you need to instigate may only be small. It may be giving your manager a freer hand and allow-ing staff a voice in influencing the personality of the venue. It may be challenging the chef to change-up the menu for the new season. It may be taking a risk with a furniture choice, or asking regulars to vote on some aspect of the design. It may be giving the youngest member of staff responsibility for your Facebook page for a month.And, yes, it may be taking that ‘study tour’ to New York. You never know, it may be the best money you’ve ever invested in your venue.

Christopher HolderEditorial Director

Send Chris a cheerio on chris@venuemag.com

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ContentsMARCH

Nº52

“I wanted a great food venue, but also a great

drinking venue. I also love coffee and cake as much

as great cocktails, so I thought, ‘Let’s bring it all

to one venue’” Damian Griffiths,

Alfred & Constance — pg36

Mr Kit & Kaboodle

Interview with John Duncan, MD Keystone Group pg24

CONTACTS:

Advertising Office:

(02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086

Editorial Office:

(03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353

Editorial Director:

Christopher Holder (chris@venuemag.com))

Publication Director:

Stewart Woodhill (stewart@venuemag.com)

Advertising Manager:

Paul Cunningham (paul@venuemag.com)

Publisher:

Philip Spencer (philip@venuemag.com)

Art Direction & Design:

Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au)

Additional Design:

Leigh Ericksen (leigh@alchemedia.com.au)

Circulation Manager:

Jen Temm (subscriptions@alchemedia.com.au)

Accounts:

Jaedd Asthana (accounts@alchemedia.com.au)

Smooth Operator pg11Music Connection pg12The Bourbon pg14Newtown Hotel pg20John Duncan, Keystone pg24Jimbo & Rex pg2620 Questions — Mike Barouche pg30Park Hotel pg33Freda’s pg34Alfred & Constance pg36O Bar & Dining pg48Grain pg50Guerrilla Bar pg54The Village pg56The Soda Factory pg66

Kit pg68Sit pg70Lit pg72Heating Special pg74Preferred Suppliers pg78You Wish pg82

Sake pg40Chowhouse pg48Acland Street Cantina pg58Harbour Rocks Hotel pg62

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au

All material in this magazine is copyright © 2013 Alchemedia

Publishing Pty Ltd. The title Venue is a registered Trademark. Apart

from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part

may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The

publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be

correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make

a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any

information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best

of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers

were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the

publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication

comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on

the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing

the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held

responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has

been made to ensure complete accuracy.

CONTENTS

Ring-ins

News

Pubs & Bars Special

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What do you call a collection of Li-censees?That’s not a joke. There’s no punch-line. I’m genuinely curious. Hang-ing out with other Licensees is a

relatively new phenomenon for us, and no-one’s yet come up with a name. Of course, it could be an ‘Accord’ of licensees. Or a ‘Forum’ of licensees. In the old days it would have been an ‘Association’ of Licensees, and can’t you just picture the glori-ous, seedy, smoke-filled back rooms filled with the publicans of old, resplendent in cheap suits, wine-splattered ties and the occasional tattered fedora, plotting the downfall of the six o’clock swill, and its replacement with late-night drinking.We’ve been attending our local Licensees Fo-rum since we opened our first pub in 2000. We rolled up to the local council offices with a rag-tag collection of fellow licensees. We filed in to the meeting room, past the instant coffee and Ar-nott’s Assorted, under the watchful eye of the lo-cal constabulary, who I assumed had been called in by someone at council who might’ve heard on the grapevine that my partners and I were trou-ble, and may well attempt to make off with the furniture (being too poor to furnish our pub with anything other than stolen goods… allegedly).Turns out we were wrong. The police were there to lambast us, which they proceeded to do with the tired resignation of a schoolteacher who’d been giving the same speech to his year 7 class every year since the war. Inspired by the disdain the police displayed for us, and not to be outdone, a variety of council enforcement officers soon got to their feet to add to the litany of offences. The general feeling that we weren’t on the same side, that we didn’t all want the same thing, that we weren’t all singing from the same hymn book was affirmed in the second half of the meeting, when the tables turned and the licensees around us let loose with a barrage of personal complaints and self-interested lobbying. Quite the baptism.Thirteen years on I’m pleased to say things work very differently now. Our Licensees Forum is the perfect stage for council, the police, the liquor regulator and licensees to meet each other, dis-cuss the issues of the day, and develop and im-plement strategies to improve our industry. Of course, those stakeholders come to the table with different aims and objectives. Broadly speaking, council, the liquor regulator (in our case the VC-GLR) and the police share the aim of regulating and policing the licensees’ activities in the inter-

est of creating safe, sustainable communities. Meanwhile, licensees share the aim of running their venues well, keeping their patrons safe, and getting on with business.There has always been some friction at the point where commerce meets regulation — in any in-dustry. Traditionally, in our industry, that friction was built on the notion that licensees would push their activities to the very edge of what was le-gal, and possibly beyond, in order to make a buck. That may well have been the case, and in some rare cases it surely still is. That said, the industry has matured greatly in the decade and a bit we’ve been in business.Licensee Forums and Accords generally work at a local council level. But local councils are often vast, covering large cities, encompassing a wide array of venues, strips, and entertainment types. Many of the issues we’ve dealt with over the years have been more localised – they’ve been relevant to a street, or a precinct, or a suburb within a city.In the case of our Swan Street Richmond venues, for example, the issues faced by a fast-growing late night entertainment precinct on the door-step of the largest sporting precinct in the south-ern hemisphere are often quite unique. We’re faced with the amenity impact of 100,000 peo-ple regularly leaving sporting stadiums to walk through residential streets to our venues. We’re faced with soccer fans. We’re faced with grand fi-nal day, when hundreds of thousands of people descend on our street at 10am, intent on staying there all day and all night. And we’re faced with thousands of people trying to get home when we’ve all closed. These are all issues unique to our street, and best dealt with on a more local lev-el. So together with our neighbouring licensees we’ve formed a group which meets regularly to do just that.We find that whenever and wherever licensees get together, there is always something to be learnt about our industry. Licensees tend to be an open lot, happy to share ideas over a few beers. Sometimes it’s not so much about sharing ideas, as boasting how good we are. But I’ve stolen many a great idea from a fellow licensee who couldn’t resist telling me all about his latest money-mak-ing scheme.There’s another benefit that comes with a struc-tured organisation of licensees. In an increasingly litigious world, and where campaigns are waged online — often gathering enormous momentum without any of the requisite backstory — the li-

quor industry needs to be able to present its point of view. Where we fall down, we need to be able to speak up, make our apologies, find ways to move on, better and stronger. But just as impor-tantly, where we succeed, we need to articulate that success, and parlay it into broader conversa-tions society will be having about public health, safety, and alcohol-related behaviour.Individual publicans have never been very good at either. And we never will be. How many times, for instance, have we seen an organised, concert-ed effort by a collective of like-minded residents threaten or even close licensed premises? The state-based and national Hotel Associations certainly do a good job of representing the liquor industry. But I heard a representative of one such organisation recently, in response to a tragic sto-ry about alcohol-related violence on the streets of one of our capital cities, suggest that alcohol wasn’t the problem, it was all about the drugs. No licensee who cares about a sustainable future for our industry could credibly subscribe to that view — not the licensees I work with every day anyway. That our peak body holds such a view is entirely a matter for it to justify. But licensees are at the coalface of the alcohol industry, and we know things can go wrong. When abused, alcohol can result in terrible tragedy. The future for our in-dustry requires an understanding of this fact, and a calm, considered response to it.And whenever like-minded licensees come to-gether with that common understanding, com-mitted to doing something about it, our industry is strengthened.

Licensees united.Matt Mullins is a partner in Sand Hill Road hospitality group

SMOOth OPerAtOr

“I’ve stolen many a great idea from a fellow licensee who couldn’t

resist telling me all about his latest money-

making scheme”

1111

Within these pages I’ve writ-ten about getting your venue acoustics right — so the mu-sic can be heard — and about ensuring you’ve made the

right music choices. Once you’ve put the ef-fort into those two areas, then paying pub-lic performance fees are less of a burden, as you’re getting good value by virtue of the front-end investment. Music plays an important role in venues and that music doesn’t come free. There are a number of compliance requirements for venues to navigate — depending on how the music is used, where it’s used and even how it’s delivered.

KNOW YOUR BODIESIt would be fair to say that most ven-ues have had an interaction of some sort with either the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) or the Phono-graphic Performance Company of Austra-lia (PPCA). Both are collection societies, but represent two different sets of copy-rights. APRA represents the songwriters who own the copyright in the song and the PPCA represents the record labels which own the copyright in the sound recording. Both copyrights and the conditions under which they are able to be commercially used are governed by the Copyright Act. If you don’t pay your fees, then they have the right to take you to court.Where it gets complicated is firstly how the collection societies set their commercial rates and, secondly, how those commercial rates are then applied under licence — there are often aspects of how they arrive at those commercial rates and how they apply them that is disputed. There are certain uses of music that are rel-atively cut and dry. However, where a venue is multifaceted and has a range of activities occurring in that space, it’s much harder to pigeonhole how music is being used and who’s hearing it. For instance, many larger venues may have a restaurant, sports bar, live music nights, nightclub, karaoke, com-edy nights and various special events, all of

which will require a certain type of public performance licence from both APRA and the PPCA.In my experience, the uses that cause the most consternation for venues are TV screens and the use of DJs and when that is considered a ‘nightclub’ and when it is not. So I’ll dwell on those two aspects here.

SCREEN ARITHMETICBig screen displays are cheap and every-where, and there’s a greater access to con-tent. The PPCA can only charge for screens that show music videos and cannot charge for anything that is broadcast — whether that be a music video or a sound record-ing, as there is an exception in the Act that doesn’t recognise any infringing use of sound recordings when they are broad-cast. APRA on the other hand, has rights to charge public performance fees for the songs that are played on the screens if that screen has speakers. That said, if those (speaker-less) screens are linked to the in-house AV system, then APRA has been known to claim a fee.Clearly, things aren’t clear cut. As a result, venues are sometimes unwittingly paying for screens that should be exempt. I have seen plenty of evidence of this, so I sug-gest you query your bill and take it up with APRA directly.

NIGHTCLUB OR JUST A DJ?In 2005, the PPCA proposed an increase in the licence fees for use of music in night-clubs. APRA got involved and after some legal wrangling the Copyright Tribunal ar-rived at rates starting from $0.99 and $0.58 for the PPCA and APRA respectively, and these have risen steadily since.Of course, venues don’t always neatly fall into a ‘nightclub’ category. A nightclub space in a larger venue is often impossible to quan-tify, and by definition the number of patrons within that space are impossible to quantify. This is an important point because the PPCA applies its tariff based on capacity, while APRA works on an attendance model. Nei-ther method is straight forward to calculate.

By way of a quick explanation, if you run a venue that has a regular DJ night, you first have to ask whether that DJ is there to pro-vide music and entertainment for the pur-poses of getting people to dance or simply to set the mood. If it’s the latter, then nei-ther the PPCA or APRA have any claim to apply licence fees that relate to nightclub activity but would be seeking the relevant foreground music tariff to be applied. Other nightclub ‘triggers’ include: whether you venue has a physical dancefloor, and wheth-er there’s a door charge.It’s not a case of meeting all of the criteria before you qualify for the nightclub tariff. If you tick one of these boxes then, in all likelihood, you’ll get a knock on the door or a letter in the post. If you’re operating with-out having paid for the music, then there are a number of legal precedents in place that will find in the favour of the copyright holders and those who represent them: PPCA and APRA.But it doesn’t mean you should be paying over the odds. Yes, the Copyright Act is up-held by law but how it’s enforced is down to shrewd commercial negotiation and there are ways of ensuring a fair price paid for the use of content in a commercial setting. You just need to know the rules or talk to some-one who does..

Paying the (right) price for public performanceStuart Watters is a Director of Morph TV and consults for Nightlife Music

MuSIC CONNeCtION

“venues are sometimes unwittingly paying for screens that should be exempt … so I suggest

you query your bill and take it up with

APRA directly”

1212

bergstrom_venue_full page_2012.ai 1 3/15/2012 12:16:37 PM

Kings Cross legendary venue, The Bourbon, is out of rehab and born again. Or so new own-er and operator, Chris Cheung believes, after his Paul Kelly Design refit of the iconic hotel in Sydney’s red-light district.

Cheung, Managing Director of C.Inc, said laughing, “The old girl is back. She’s born again and she’s found God.”There are those, remembering The Bourbon’s seedy past, who would love to see her fall off the wagon. Every town needs a place like the old Bourbon, where angry young men, bad girls and mid-life crises can be played out in an ill-advised, last stop on a pub crawl everyone else has abandoned. The old Bourbon was never a desti-nation, it was where you ended-up.

BOURBON BACK STORYThe Bourbon’s backstory reads like a Graham Greene novel and anyone who had been there — and can re-member — has a story to tell. None better than its founder Bernie Houghton’s own. Texan-born Hough-ton, who allegedly ran covert air operations for the CIA in Vietnam, established The Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar and Restaurant, in 1967, as a 24-hour opener to cater to GIs on R&R, helping turn Sydney back into the garrison town it always was.Houghton was what is known euphemistically as a ‘co-lourful identity’. He reportedly had links with everything from ASIO to the infamous Nugan Hand Bank. South-East Asia expert, Alfred McCoy, claimed, “The Hand–Houghton partnership led the bank’s international divi-sion into new fields — drug finance, arms trading, and support work for CIA covert operations.” The Bourbon was rumoured to be the preferred watering hole of visit-ing US government and CIA agents, alike.That was until Houghton died in 2005 and The Bour-bon shut up shop. ING Real Estate Entertainment Fund paid $53m for the site, gutted it and tried to turn in into yet another yuppie trough. It failed slowly but surely and finally closed again in 2010 after the roof collapsed during a torrential down pour. At the end of 2011, the City of Sydney approved anoth-er refit, proposed by Cheung, who’d bought The Bour-bon and the neighbouring Swans premises in 2010 for $22m — an eye-brow raising bargain given the previous $53m price tag.But Cheung has form, having sponsored that other rough-as-guts joint, the Coogee Bay Hotel through a 12-step program and into the more, clean cut, wholesome mega-venue it is today.His vision for The Bourbon is to pull the Mason-Dixon line that divides the Cross, from the more bourgeois Potts Point, a hundred metres south-east of the foun-tain and attract more food-oriented patrons.

CHRIS CHEUNG’S STORY Cheung is an unlikely candidate for saving the souls of fallen hotspots. The second son of a third-generation Chinese family in Vanuatu, the French national was educated at a spit and polish Australian boarding school. Cheung, whose first language is French followed by Bislama and finally English (but ironically with no Asian languages in his repertoire), was expected to go into the family business, like all good Chinese sons. The family shopping centre business however, failed to light the 18 year old’s fire. “After school I travelled for two years and got dis-owned,” he said. “I boarded from such an early age and felt cooped up. I had a burning desire for travel and adventure, so Itrekked through Asia and Europe and worked, coincidentally, in hospitality as everything from a glassie to a bar man.“What my family wanted was for me to get a degree and be a good son. My elder brother, Charles, who did ex-actly that, inspired me in how not to do things.” He does however give Charles his due by saying: “He has been B

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very successful, after inheriting the family business and expanding into retail. He is also the Consul General in Shanghai for Vanuatu and now speaks Mandarin.” But Cheung can’t help elbowing in a note of sibling rivalry by saying, “He also benefits from having a wife who makes him look exceptionally good!”Seems Cheung did learn something from his brother, where women are concerned though and describes his own Italian-Australian wife Tori, as a super-mum. With four children, three boys and a girl, between the ages of two and 14, encompassing everything from nappies to puberty in the one household, there is little doubt Tori’s match fit.

COOGEE COOGEE COUPDespite his youthful foray into entry-level hospitality, Cheung veered into property management after re-turning from overseas. He said, “Getting into hotels was a fluke. The acquisition of the Coogee Bay Hotel happened during the ’91 recession and was a rare low-hanging fruit and golden opportunity.“The previous owner had operated remotely. The Coo-gee Bay had a brand but didn’t have structure. Being outside the industry, we were able to bring structure, unusual to hospitality, in the form of reporting, data collection, analysis, brand building and the right peo-ple. We developed it. Understood what it could and should be and ended up running it ourselves. The sev-en-day weeks didn’t scare me. Given the Chinese work ethic, hard work is in my DNA.”Just as well. As Cheung points out “The ‘91 masterplan for the Coogee Bay Hotel was not complete until ‘98. There were planning, financing and management is-sues given its 80,000sqm footprint.” The family came to the party but Cheung says he maintains black sheep status. Luckily, he said, “The returns were fantastic, far exceeding our expectations.”

CLEAN SLATEMany years, bars and planning battles later, The Bour-bon, now a blank canvas, winked at Cheung from across, what he calls, the ‘right side’ of the road in Kings Cross.“We were looking for a new opportunity, “ he said. “Hos-pitality is evolving. In fact, it is in a state of constant change. Technology, social media and people travelling so much more these days, are driving the latest changes. The Bourbon is the perfect place to capitalise on those changes. It was a clean slate for what could be created in a 24-hour entertainment precinct, like The Cross.”But by clean slate he does not mean erasing the past. He said, “We reviewed the brand. The Bourbon is a heri-tage brand. Our predecessors moved too far away from the heritage of the site. We have re-introduced the orig-inal New Orleans tone and flavour, in food, design and music. But it’s a distinctly Sydney take on Americana. All those Southern sounds and tastes that Australians are fascinated by currently, hark back to the original Bourbon and have a timeless quality.”

DELICIOUSLY SINFULThe Bourbon takes a Mark Twain quote as its motto: “New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin,” he wrote.Head Chef, James Metcalfe, who’s credentials include Becasse and Etch has created a contemporary Creole menu based on that motto, including: delicious crack-ling, oysters, clams, succotash, gumbo, lobster, jam-balaya, ribs and fried green tomatoes with buttermilk

dressing. And if the deserts sound sinful: beignets, pe-can pie and S’mores; it’s the drinks that sound crimi-nal: Red Velvet, KX Kiss, Pomme Royale.Bar food includes Po’ Boys, Bernie Burgers — in a sa-lute Houghton — and Bourbon Dogs. Quenchers in-clude a Maple-Bourbon Cider and a wide selection of American boutique beers.

FOOD FOCUSSuch an offering is all part of Cheung’s strategy for growth within his portfolio centred on food.Designer Paul Kelly agrees with Cheung saying, “The business model for hotels has changed. Food is now the primary focus.”His design solution for The Bourbon looked to bring the food offer to the foreground and was based on ex-tensive research. “I travelled with the client looking critically at bars and restaurants in New York, Miami, New Orleans and Vegas. I travel every year, largely across America, to see the latest venue successes. The current success stories are based on an original con-cept with solid bones and a permanent feel with a clas-sic edge that doesn’t try too hard to impress. I think this is in reaction to the pop-up sensation. People are now looking for permanence and longevity.”Along with pricing, ambience and accessibility, Cheung is hoping it will capture the discerning demo-graphic around Potts Point.Creating the ambience to do so, was Kelly’s job. Kelly has a sophisticated understanding of how hospitality design works.“The defining factor in hospitality design,” Kelly said, “is understanding how the space works for different customers. The space has to allow staff to serve dif-ferent areas and clientele seamlessly. The relationship between the spaces and traffic circulation has to work to both showcase what’s on offer and make service and product easily accessible and visible.”

ONE SPACE, MANY MOODSAt The Bourbon, the food is showcased via the open kitchen at the entrance, whetting patrons appetites as they make their way past before meandering off into the different zones for dining, drinking casually at the bar, listening to music or people watching on the open terrace while being able to move freely between zones and mingle in the process.According to Kelly the design has to create different moods for different activities by different people in an open plan. He said, “The one space has to provide a variety of options.”The way to achieve that he believes is through materi-als, texture and lighting. He said, “You have to under-stand how the materials work with the light, particu-larly low light, to shimmer and shine at night creating mood and atmosphere and how, for instance, polished brass works against raw brick to create contrast and texture. Similarly the colour palette and strategy is de-signed to cue a response. It has to be vibrant. It has to make you feel like letting your hair down.”While hospitality design needs a greater degree of the-atricality than other genres, he said, “the trick is to use materials that people can relate to and use details they have an understanding of. Spaces need to be recogni-sable without being themed.”The other distinctive factor in hospitality design, partic-ularly for licensed premises he said is the need to script control into the design: “Kings Cross is all based on

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control. Our entrance strategies at The Bourbon, which will have a capacity for 1000 patrons, work so the control point is the lift lobby which everyone passes through to get to whichever space they are destined for.“There is a second entrance for gaming patrons directly to the outdoor gaming room. The gaming patron is not a Bourbon patron, they are different markets, so don’t mix them.”

MAKE OR BREAKA project like The Bourbon can make or break a design company, according to Kelly. It has taken a two-year de-sign and build period and was expensive at $4,500 per square metre or $7m in round figures. The high cost reflects the fact that Kelly has designed all the struc-tural work for future construction phases including the basement and the first and second floors — including a rumoured roof top venue.Such an approach is only risky according to Kelly if Cheung were to go beyond the current licence or sell short term. Given Cheung’s seven-year-plus plan for The Bourbon, Kelly believes there is little danger of that. In the mean time, he said the 30 machines in the gaming room are a significant money-spinner and sup-port the ground floor to stand-alone until the other floors open.Early indications suggest locals are excited about The Bourbon re-opening. Kelly said, “Everyone is coming in for a look. Lots of people are eating. I think people are genuinely happy about someone investing back into the area for the long term.”There is no doubt the locals feel a sense of community ownership where the venue is concerned as a kind of sacred — or more correctly, sacrilegious — site and want to be a part of what is happening there. The October opening of the basement cocktail lounge is greatly an-ticipated. The Basement was always where one got into the most trouble — a little more elegantly after October, one gathers.

POTTS POINTERSCheung said, “Potts Point is one of the highest density demographics in the country but until now it hasn’t vis-ited this precinct as much as it should, given that it is composed of people, typically 30+ years old with high incomes who eat out on average five nights a week.”Part of the reason for that is perhaps, perception. Cheung said, “Pubs are known for volume, alcohol and gaming. Hotels are moving away from that as a core business. The mood is changing along with the licens-ing laws. The trend is towards safe, friendly, compliant venues. There has been a licence freeze in Kings Cross since 2009 and venues cannot serve drinks in glassware or shots or double shots after midnight.”Given that, it would be easy to argue that the problems in The Cross, when they do arise, are no longer primar-ily alcohol-related. What they are primarily related to, Cheung has strong views upon – but that’s a whole oth-er story, which venue will canvass in coming issues.Suffice it to say, as Cheung did, “The Cross attracts 22,000 visitors every Friday and Saturday night. Hoo-liganism is well behind us. There are challenges in The Cross, not isolated to The Bourbon. We, and The Bour-bon are part of the solution in meeting those challenges.”One day at a time, Mr Cheung.

BOurBON SOuNd: drINK It uPThe main speaker components were carefully chosen after numer-ous listening tests, with Martin Audio being the preferred brand. The main stage performance system consists of Martin AQ12 high powered 12-inch two-way FOH speakers along with AQ215 high-powered dual 15-inch sub bass boxes. Throughout the rest of the venue Martin Audio C6.8T, C4.8T, and C8.1T high-performance ceiling speakers provide sound reinforcement. All amplification is supplied by QSC Audio heavy-duty RMX range with processing by BSS Audio. Management, stage performers and patrons alike have noted how the sound quality and evenness of coverage help imbue The Bourbon with that ineffable cabaret/Las Vegas feel, in keeping with the history of the venue.Xcite Audio Visual (Installation): 1300 568 571 or www.xciteav.com.au

Technical Audio Group (Martin Audio, QSC Audio): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au

Jands (BSS Audio): (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

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Venue_EV-Innovations_March 2013.indd 1 18/03/2013 3:20:34 PM

Right in the pulsating heart of Newtown stands the Newtown Hotel. Over its 130-year history it’s been a a pub operated by Tooth & Co., a shop, and a photographic studio. Now it’s in The Keystone Group portfolio, along

with a number of other desirable inner-east and north-shore destinations. And Keystone has been giving the old girl some love, engaging Coco Republic Interior Design, which also worked on the eye-popping upstairs restaurant, The Animal.Paul Schulte, Group Manager of the Keystone Group, de-scribes the Newtown Hotel atmosphere as dynamic and “ever changing”: “Newtown’s culture and history drove the design elements of this venue,” he says. “Basically we wanted to respect Newtown’s history and what they do and love. The concept was to put all of that within four walls!” Paul himself worked on the design of the ground floor, which features bright green walls, shiny bronze and black booths, a curious mural starring a car and kangaroos, and of course the unmissable tiled cen-tral bar. “The main bar says a lot about the place,” says Paul. “I guess you could say it’s the heart of the venue.”

FREAKIN’ GOODBefore Newtown Hotel opened shop last October many inner-west pubgoers knew the venue as Freaky Tiki, a popular pop-up bar that inhabited the building for some months in 2010-2011. When asked if Keystone were under a lot of pressure to deliver something spe-cial after Freaky Tiki said its alohas, Paul has no doubt about it. “Yes, very much so!” he says. “We made sure we still included an element of Freaky Tiki, making the outdoor courtyard area as an homage.” In the beer gar-

FULL EXPOSUREKeystone unlocks some inner-west potential.Newtown Hotel:174 King St, Newtown NSW(02) 9557 6399 or newtownhotel.com.au

Story: Lucie Robson

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den guests can find colourful furniture, a whole bunch of plants and crisscrossed hanging light bulbs.Upstairs, Newtown Hotel takes on a whole new per-sonality. The Animal is a Greek-influenced restaurant (inspired by Keystone Group Chef, George Diamond's childhood favourite meals) designed by Coco Repub-lic Interior Design. It features custom-designed retro booths, neon signage, graffiti and rock music lyrics. The colour scheme favours turquoise and ocean blue (the guests apparently love how relaxing these colours are), and a large amount of the furniture and fittings were cus-tom-designed by Coco Republic. A mural of The Beatles looking ready for battle actually isn’t the standout eccen-tricity — The Animal has its very own indoors caravan.

HITCHING A RIDE“The caravan private dining room references the retro traveller and the desire of us all to travel,” says Senior Interior Designer at Coco Republic Natasha Levak. “Suspended gas lamp-style lighting and a flyscreen door entrance are quirky inclusions chosen to ensure the room encourages a sense of fun and a point of differ-ence to the rest of the venture.”Natasha wanted the interior design to embody some of the stories that Newtown Hotel had to tell, as well as the restaurant’s unique name. “The scheme was in-spired by the venue’s unique and colourful music his-tory along with the name, ‘The Animal’ that the cli-ent envisaged. We took this concept as representing ‘all the wild things’ and incorporated it literally into a theme using playful touches of leather or alligator fin-ishes, block animal print scatters and wild wall murals for artwork.”

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While the upstairs and downstairs areas are different, they work in sync — and both levels serve ‘wine on tap’. “The lower level of the pub is a more casual, bar and games area with a live music stage, outdoor beer gar-den, pool tables etc,” says Natasha. “The upstairs is set dining and drinking. The differing purposes of each of the spaces are connected through the background pal-ette — the architectural fitout throughout upstairs and downstairs is consistent, which helps tie the two to-gether. The myriad furniture styles, reclaimed and cus-tom also keep the general, relaxed, unique vibe consis-tent throughout.”

NEWTOWN EXPOSEDFor the revamp, the existing plastered brick walls were left exposed, while the original Victorian-era timber trims were returned to the internals. “One of my fa-vourite features of the new design is the way the new design celebrates the history of the building,” says Na-tasha. “The old and the new concepts sit side by side, both with purpose.”The Newtown Hotel’s first floor veranda channels a large balcony that was quickly built and dissembled in the 1920s. Paul says that the veranda is a Newtown in-stitution, but presented practical difficulties to erect: “The veranda was the most challenging from a design aspect. The strength that had to go behind it to canti-lever it… well, it needed a complete reconstruction!”Natasha says that with such a strong design theme guiding the process, it was difficult not to go overboard. “Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the design was deciding where to be bold and where to be reserved with colours, furniture styles, and fitout,” she explains. “There is a very fine line that exists between overdone concepts and themes, and unique, well-executed ones. The focus was on retaining a sense of rawness to the fitout — urban, but not overdone.”

ABUZZ & AGLOWIt’s obvious, walking down King Street on any given eve-ning, that the collaborative effort has paid off for the Newtown Hotel — it’s consistently aglow with the neon lighting and abuzz with a cacophony of voices. The positive feedback has made its way to Keystone. “The Newtown Hotel is our most community-driven venue,” says Paul Schulte. “We are really happy with the posi-tive response we’ve had from the locals.”Natasha Levak, too, says that the feedback has been “all positive”, from the clients of the hotel and the media, too. “It's an exciting new look, something a little differ-ent and unforgettable.”

Coco Republic Interior Design: 1300 785 039 or www.cocorepublic.com.au

Nightlife Music: 1800 679 748 or www.nightlife.com.au

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It’s impossible to generalise. But it’s fun. Wheth-er you’re talking about the Gordon Gekko-style ALH Group, the gastro-pub delights of the Colo-nial Leisure Group, the Singo/Dicko knockabout rich mates’ pub play, or the tight Sandhill crew of

Richmond… the bigger players each tend to fall into a mould. They either stick to a proven venue formula, or a familiar suburban patch they know like the back of their hand, or they have the big investment banker backing and it’s a beer ’n’ pokies production line.Keystone is harder to pigeonhole. The Keystone port-folio is diverse: everything from boutique wine bars to corner pubs to huge late-night entertainment com-plexes; and it’s hard to identify what the common de-

nominator is… other than the fact they’re well run and profitable.Keystone Managing Director John Duncan and

his business partner Paul Schulte are clearly pas-sionate about hospitality and, with the rate of Key-

stone’s expansion, they’re obviously ambitious, but I wanted to know a little more about what makes Key-stone tick.John Duncan isn’t a hard-head. He’s an affable, laconic bloke who likes a beer. He doesn’t strike me as some-one who delights in spreadsheets, but he talks almost fondly of ‘processes’. He has a couple of generations of hospitality in his family, but (at least initially) decided to strike out on a different career…

John Duncan on his Career Change: “I was a build-er by trade; a site foreman. Then in 2000 an opportuni-ty came up and we got involved. From there we’ve just picked up the ball and run with it.”

That opportunity was to launch Cargo Bar on King Street Wharf, just as Olympic mayhem was about to de-scend on Sydney. It was a once in a lifetime chance. But with the stakes so ludicrously high, it was hardly the ideal launch venue for a hospitality novice — even with one that had beer in his veins… so to speak.

John Duncan on Staffing: We invest in our staff. We teach them a lot about procedure and creating experi-ences for guests. And at all levels — cellar staff, wait staff, bar staff… we train everyone. We spend money on that training and it’s worth it.

And if the Cargo Bar was a ‘sink or swim’ moment, then John and his cohorts not only emerged spluttering to the surface, they powered their way like a young Thor-pie to a podium finish. Cargo Bar has been a huge suc-cess by any measure, and continues to be 13 years later.

KEYSTONE UNLOCKEDWhat makes Keystone tick? Christopher Holder talks to Managing Director John Duncan to find out.

“We build for the long run. Cargo

Bar is 13 years old and retains many original features”

John Duncan on Budgeting: Spend money where it’s worthwhile. Furniture for one — buy the best, and it’ll last. And allow for a contingency: no matter how many times you look at the plan you’re always going to want to add or change something once you get the furniture in the space. Bungalow 8 followed. Which can hardly be described as a huge departure — another heaving nightspot on the same pier, with largely the same sort of demographic — but it only served to raise the Keystone stocks.

John Duncan on Looking Good: Choose the right ma-terials for that area and really make sure it’s going to last. If it doesn’t. Fix it, because it’ll cost you more in the long run. We build for the long run. Cargo Bar is 13 years old and retains many original features — it looks great.

From there? Wine bars. And wine bars before wine bars were a blip on the Sydney radar. Starting in 2005 with the Gazebo in Elizabeth Bay, followed by The Winery, The Wine Suites, and Manly Wine, all for the 30-plus “vintage” patron as John describes them.

John Duncan on Expansion: When you’re expanding as a company and travelling a lot it’s very important that you’re in the venues — feeling, living, breathing it. We’re a large group now, with 700 staff, and it doesn’t get any easier. So key management is also very important.

The wine bars show Keystone’s entrepreneurial spirit. Cargo Bar and Bungalow 8 embody the essence of ‘Syd-ney International’ with their schmick ’n’ sexy sizzle; they’re vastness; and, of course, their location — King Street Wharf is ‘destination’ with a huge buzz but little soul. So the curious peregrinations into the compara-tively micro world of wine bars demonstrates a whole knew side to Keystone… it’s like discovering that Bruce Willis likes knitting. But it’s a beautiful side and one that led the way in the Harbour City.

John Duncan on The Cross: It’s a precinct where a lot of operators have taken a hit with the new Friday/Satur-day night restrictions. Is it solving the problem? Probably not. Just diverting it elsewhere. The one thing that’s not being addressed is what’s happening with the drugs — the stuff no one wants to talk about. I love Kings Cross, I come to Kings Cross daily and it’s obvious to me that drugs is a massive issue.

The next Keystone bombshell was The Sugarmill, an enormous corner site in the epicentre of the visceral thrill that is Kings Cross. It was an old bank building. Keystone gutted it and transformed it into a multi-func-

tional fun palace. But unlike Sydney’s new harbourside projects, Darlinghurst Road has history and personality to burn. With lessons learnt from the more boutique wine bar ventures, Keystone got its groove on.

John Duncan on Being Hands On: Until our part-nership with Coco Republic at the Newtown Hotel we’ve mostly worked with an architect (Humphrey & Edwards) and spec’ed the furniture and finishes ourselves. I could probably tell you every finish we used in this venue (The Sugarmill) without too much trouble. I mean, who would have thought to put a vinyl floor back into a pub (which we did in Newtown)? Bring it back! You can drop a glass and it’ll bounce back up at you... with the beer still in it!

The Sugarmill, Kit & Kaboodle, and the freshly-minted Sweetheart’s Rooftop Bar as a multi-headed hydra of a brekky-till-dawn entertainment complex, manages to be immense and quirky. There are any number of de-sign punts that mostly come off and it’s a site that ef-fortlessly shares the same heartbeat of the mad/bad pre-cinct it clearly champions.

John Duncan on Launch Strategies: Most of our venues have been designed from scratch — a blank can-vas — which can make it easier to get the launch right… you’re not inheriting problems. With the Newtown Hotel renovation, the best thing we did was trade as Freaky Tiki for nine months. We got to understand the quirks of Newtown and the trading patterns, which all went into informing the fitout and launch.

John talks about running “venues for locals” as being part of the Keystone DNA. But for a man who’s made his fortune from running large venues in precincts not known for their locals (King Street Wharf and Kings Cross) you wonder if they’re hollow words. More chari-tably, I’d suggest that it’s Keystone’s new DNA… spliced in, you might say. This is none more evident in the highly sensitive Newtown Hotel relaunch. Many locals were extremely dubious of Keystone’s intentions. The fact that Keystone has given Newtown precisely what it wanted has won over even the most sceptical of observ-ers. One suspects Keystone has a new string to its bow.

John Duncan on What’s on the Radar: Since last Oc-tober we’ve launched the Newtown Hotel, Sweethearts in November, and The Rook in December. That’s three ven-ues in three months, with a whole lot of capital invested. But we’ve got things in the pipeline and you’ll be the first to know! We’re always looking at something new to grow the business. We’re geared up ready to go, we can take on more quite easily.

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Before I even set foot in Jimbo & Rex, I liked it.What not to like? I mean, I had no idea who Jimbo or Rex were but I felt sure they were friendly; in all probability human; and I got the feeling they were more than happy to

knock the top off a cold one. Approachable, informal, family friendly… I had a good vibe about these guys.The reality matches the promise. Jimbo & Rex is a new addition to Crown Melbourne’s ‘West End’. It’s replaced most of the real estate formerly occupied by The Pub and combines a casual ‘front bar’ with anytime dining.

MAKING STUFF HAPPENCrown excels in its ability to get the most out of its in-terior designers. For its part, the huge Crown machine can make ‘stuff’ happen — it’s easier to realise ambi-tious custom concepts — and the Crown pockets are the deepest in town. But there’s a quid pro quo: Crown expects elite levels of professionalism — with an eye for every last detail, there’s no going to sleep at the wheel as a designer.Mim Design was given the Jimbo & Rex interior design brief… and a whole lot more. The Mim Design team — headed up by Kylie Dorotic — came up with the full design package, including the branding, the nomencla-ture of the menu, the cutlery, the aprons, you name it — everything you can see or touch as a punter was part of the Mim Design brief.

THINKING BIGI spoke to Mim Design’s Kylie Dorotic on site, marvel-ling at the impressive dimensions of the venue. It’s a big space full of bold statements — big copper facade, over-sized pendants, giant L-shaped bar. But not bombasti-cally monolithic or overbearing — there’s lots to admire in the detail and the layering in the design.Kylie Dorotic: It is a huge space. The ceilings are 5.5m high, yet there’s also a real intimate warmth to the ven-ue. There are some really successful pockets that people can retire into if they don’t want the hustle and bustle.

venue: But a big space requires some big statements, and you have those.Kylie: The bar is immense and sets the tone. It says, you can come in and have a drink anytime and a snack or a meal.

FRESH ’N’ FEARLESSThe ceiling reveals the timber rafters that radiate from the bar and provide some more New York loft-style in-formality (without the grunge) as well as ample room for PointofView’s (POV) indirect architectural lighting design. And there’s colour — a fresh, fearless approach to colour — that uses the very best in what can only be described as ‘undercoat’ blues and greens. You can see for yourself, it looks amazing. Combine that palate with slate grey, light woods, cream tiles, and accents of cop-per and you have a very rich visual smorgasbord of tex-tures and tones.And just about nothing’s off the peg. Crown’s SWAT fitout team can build anything, or they know someone who can. Schiavello played a role, while hand-picked Australian artists came to the party with some great looking cameos — glassware, a wall feature etc.

SEEING THE LIGHTSThe feature lighting includes bespoke contemporary chandeliers made of glass and copper, and being able to see the light source in this way gives the lighting a tra-ditional feel. Mirror finishes around the bar and seating areas reflect light throughout the space adding sparkle and glow. Custom pendants above the boomerang-shaped bar and in the dining area were created with a copper finish, to complement copper accents else-where in the interior. Concealed lighting is used to illuminate vertical sur-faces; a choice was made to wash the light to increase brightness in the space without the use of excessive am-bient lighting. Other vertical surfaces such as bottle dis-plays and artworks are accented either by integral light-ing or concealed customised spotlights. Other features

SIC ’EM REXRelax, you’re among friends.

Story: Christopher Holder

Jimbo & Rex:Crown Melbourne, Southbank VICwww.crownmelbourne.com.au/jimbo-and-rex

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CONTACTSMim Design: (03) 9826 1266 or www.mimdesign.com.au

Schiavello (Builders & Joinery): www.schiavello.com.au

PointofView (Lighting Design): (03) 9017 4161 or www.pov.com.au

Volker Haug (Lighting): (03) 9387 1803 or www.volkerhaug.com.au

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that are accent lit include porcelain plates, trees, pot plants and a double height art wall made out of recycled timber. Allowing contrasts was important for the dis-play of these elements.

WEST END COMPLETENow that Jimbo & Rex, along with the Man Tong Chi-nese restaurant next door, has launched Crown’s West End is complete. The enormous West End undertaking, which kicked off with Lagerfield on the ground level, and now encompasses the new Level 1 gaming floor, Merrywell, Cotta, Lumia, and the new Common Room. It’s a transformation. But are the ingredients just right? Kym Barter, General Manager of Restaurants, is the right man to answer that: Kym Barter: I was a little concerned that with the Merrywell we had two pubs in the same area. How are we going to differentiate them? But we’ve not had any trouble. The clientele, the food and the atmosphere is very different.venue: Jimbo & Rex takes over from The Pub, which had many admirers.Kym: The Pub was a very successful venue for us. But a few years ago, The Pub was the only bar in the West End, now we have three or four. So we were looking for a new venue where the food offering was more ac-cessible (we leave Merrywell to provide the gastro-pub experience); where you can eat at the bar, and be there with your family.venue: So you were careful to avoid any misconceptions of Jimbo & Rex being The Pub MkII?Kym: Yes, and we’ve done that very successfully. We’ve hired a great team, most of which has come external to Crown. It’s a young, energetic team — they’re having fun, and helping to create a relaxed atmosphere. These guys are Crown staff, but more importantly they’re Jimbo & Rex people. We’ve hired a venue manager and head chef who have the autonomy to run Jimbo & Rex in the way they see fit. And for a venue like this, which is off the gaming floor, that’s an advantage.venue: How’s Jimbo & Rex been performing?Kym: Really well. We’re really, really happy with it. If anything, the dining area could be bigger. There’s plen-ty of demand on tables for dinner — we’ve hit the ex-actly right mark with the cuisine type.”

NO WORRIESI guess the design cliché is ‘resolved’ — the Jimbo & Rex ‘concept’ is beautifully ‘resolved’. How successful it is as a venue, only time will tell. Like any of Crown’s own tenancies, it’ll be highly scrutinised, and will be backed to the absolute hilt until such time that it’s swiftly and methodically replaced — it’s dog eat dog.But until that time, we can exalt in a great pub idea, wonderfully realised.

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Thinkingbig?

• Facilities Management• Business Management

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Mike Barouche Manager — Member Services: Australian Hotels Association (VIC) Mike is your Victorian AHA point man. Here he drains his pot to read the tea leaves.

The AHA (Vic) has been around a long time, since 1843 in fact. I manage the membership function of the AHA (Vic). I help them through operational issues; I

give them marketing advice; I provide a point of contact so we can make it clear to government what’s happening at the ‘coalface’.

My background includes a degree in hotel management and a master’s in marketing.

I’ve lived and worked around Australia with overseas experience in Honolulu, Tokyo and LA. I think I’m one of the few people with a job where I can be sitting in a beer garden on a sunny after-

noon and answer a call from my boss to tell him I’m hard at work (and he believes me!). I visit pubs and hotels across the state and the diversity of our membership is amazing — small

country pubs, suburban gaming hotels, foodie pubs, multi-purpose entertainment venues and five-star international hotels in the CBD.

We’ll discuss issues that include liquor, workplace relations, music licensing, industry trends and AHA (Vic) priorities. Best of all, I enjoy identifying areas where we can save money, whether that’s a rebate on Sky channel fees, lower merchant rates for EFTPOS or reduced electricity charges.

More recently it’s been great to help bring clarity to the sometimes murky world of music licensing. My approach is simple, ‘fair play = fair pay’.

About a third of our membership have pokies. I’m a big fan of craft beer! I love tasting the ‘personalities’ behind the breweries from around Aus-

tralia. We’re seeing double digit growth in the craft beer segment because of its appeal to ‘untapped’ niches in the market. Women are now more likely to choose an interesting, often quirky brew rather

the predictability of a glass of wine. AHA (Vic) events are lots of fun and take place throughout the year and across the State. We have publican’s country race days, member network-ing lunches and dinners, and then there’s our annual marquee event

in November: The State Awards for Excellence. It

consistently attracts around 1000 people to celebrate the achievements of hotels and pubs across the state. Not to be missed.

Our offices are conveniently located across the road from parliament house. We’ve got a positive re-lationship with government where ministers feel comfortable coming over to ‘chew the fat’ between sessions. It means our members’ voices are being heard. We welcome feedback to help shape the fu-ture of the hospitality industry in Victoria.

Pubs are without a doubt the safest place to consume alcohol. There are around 20,000 liquor licenses in Victoria. It’s a highly competitive market. It comes down to giving people a reason to be in your pub. It’s not unusual for venues in Melbourne to undertake multimillion dollar refurbishment projects to

ensure they stand out from the crowd. With such significant levels of investment, it seems like a ‘no brainer’ to be involved with AHA (Vic) and benefit from our support, advice and influence.

2013 is an important year for the AHA here in Victoria and nationally. There’s a great deal of work being done behind the scenes to ensure the federal government elected in September will have em-pathy towards the commercial interests of our members. This work includes a 28-point ‘log of claims’ we’re putting to federal political parties and members of parliament. Some of these points include: reform of the industrial relations system, including the need for increased flexibility in employment arrangements; investment in workforce development including easier access for high demand over-seas workers; the continuation of an alcohol taxation system that provides concessions for draught beer; abolition of unnecessary Federal Government intervention into State and Territory liquor and gambling policy areas, and more.

Favourite Victorian Pub? It’s hard to say, but a sunny afternoon at The Portsea Hotel is hard to beat.

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24 Moons Alumbra The Arthouse Hotel Australian Outback Spectacular The Bank Hotel The Botanical Bungalow 8 Brisbane Hotel (Perth) Club Marconi Discovery Establishment Half Moon

Hornsby RSL Ivy Katuk Kudu Lounge Luxe Bar The Mean Fiddler The Met Oxford Art Factory Slip Inn

Melbourne’s west has a new epicurean epicentre: The Park Hotel. This sprawling hotel has taken on a new life as a classy eatery and craft beer hall. The owners Nick Christou and Isaac Zietek have over 20 years combined industry experi-ence and are responsible for some of Brisbane’s West End famous venues such as Archive Beer Boutique and Bistro — well renowned as the craft beer mecca of Queensland.

“Werribee was where I was brought up,” commented Nick Christou. “And it’s really taking off. This property came on the market. It was a pub that needed a lot of work, but often they’re the ones that can provide the best opportunity.”

After striking a good deal with the landlord, Nick and Isaac went to work, designing the industrial-look refit themselves, while leaving the AV fitout to Ambient Technology (Outline DVS series as the main PA and Outline IS8 as delay and room fill powered by Kind Audio amps) and partnering with Nightlife for music content. Nightlife Music plays a vital role

here. The music must be familiar but not blokey. Edgy but not way out. By using the Nightlife lists and scheduler the Park team are able to change from a cool hangout during the day to a vibrant, must be seen at, meeting place in the evenings.

Executive Chef Matija Stefancic, was engaged to establish an “exceptional” standard of pub food, sourcing only locally grown fresh produce and preparing everything in house. The artisanal menu is complemented by a selection or over 200 local and international craft beers. “It’s IPA week this week, and our customers love our selection. We’re getting people coming down from Melbourne,” noted Nick.

The industrial design with twin fire places, exposed steel beams, polished concrete and a keg room to view the beer selection on tap is great to catch up with friends. The out-door garden is the perfect place to relax and unwind on Melbourne’s balmy nights.

WeSt IS BeStPark Hotel:12 Watton Street, Werribee VIC(03) 9741 1441 or www.theparkhotel.net.au

Ambient Technology: (03) 9731 7242 or www.ambienttechnology.com.au

Nightlife Music: 1800 679 748 or www.nightlife.com.au

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“It’s pretty rare to find an old building in Sydney that hasn’t been knocked down or renovated,” says Dave Abram of the 100 year old warehouse he found in original condition. “It’s a huge space. It’s a big ‘small bar’, but it’s still intimate,” he con-tinues about the dream he designed, and continues to live and breathe as bar owner and DJ.

The fitout, although contemporary, achieves his goal of not competing with the two-level industrial space that sits secretly down a city laneway. Packing a Masters in Architecture, and with a dad who’s been a practising architect for over 30 years, Abram hired a builder, invested in a good carpenter and used cheap raw materials for the constructed elements. He com-pares this to a Japanese build: craft is at the centre of it all. “It’s the subliminal stuff that people don’t notice but makes a huge difference.” Oregon benches with an ergonomic sloping backrest are so comfortable it allows patrons to sit for hours. Oregon he explained is really cheap but has tensile strength that can handle long spans — perfect for the bar. Abram was inspired by builders using Oregon as temporary walking planks during construction. As a soft wood, you couldn’t use it in a house fitout, yet he thinks the marks and scuffs of use add character to the bar. His other choice of wood, plywood, is normally covered, yet openly on display at Freda’s. Zinc was installed on the bar by another tradesman, a roofer, and

fOuNd SOuNdSFreda’s Bar & Canteen(02) 8971 7336109 Regent Street, Chippendale NSW

Story: Rebecca Varidel

was chosen for similar reasons. A year in, the zinc has lost its squeaky clean shine acquiring a distinctive patina of age.

Perhaps the triumph of the budget spend is the lighting. Abram sat $5 halogen light bulbs inside glass bowls and built the fit-tings using butchers’ chains.

In the eclectic mix of vintage furniture that was sourced by Abram in Bowral and Berrima, old French school chairs (at $30 each) were saved from a Swedish fondue restaurant. On the back of these chairs are charming decorations the restau-rant owner press-ganged his friends into painting when they opened. Some furniture was sourced from Ici et Là (Belgium and France), though “I think we could have put in milk crates and it would have worked,” Abram notes mischievously.

In a place that Abram wants locals to call home, two high-grade Turkish rugs line the walls. The wall hangings serve the dual pur-pose of decoration and sound treatment. Speaking of which, at a hefty $25k, the largest portion of the spend was directed into sound treatments. And as music is such a passion for Abram, the investment in a high-end sound system went above and beyond the outlay of a lot of other small business. The second-hand Bose system has enough headroom such that the ‘pedal’ only needs to be halfway to the ‘metal’, ensuring low distortion, and an easier space to hear and be heard.

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Venue_fullpage.indd 1 15/03/13 3:35 PM

How to describe Alfred & Constance? As a bar? Pub? Restaurant? Perhaps a bit of all of these things worked over with a slightly unhinged brush and with a glow all its own. Best understood as a ‘multi-entertainment

venue’ or ‘hospitality complex’ that began life as two separate Queenslander houses made into one with ar-chitectural trickery, Alfred and Constance is now four distinct experiences under the one roof.

AT THE VANGUARDInside A&C are The Vanguard beer garden and restau-rant, Alfred’s Café, the Late Night Dessert Café and the standout White Lightning Tiki Bar. In every corner, un-expected objects contribute to an atmosphere of won-

CONSTANCE CRAVING

Glue two Queenlanders together and unleash a fun palace.

Story: Lucie Robson

Alfred & Constance130 Constance St, Fortitude Valley QLD

(07) 3257 7410 or www.alfredandconstance.com

der and whimsy. For owner Damian Griffiths, Alfred and Constance was borne out of many different ideas but has to cater to many different expectations, too: “I wanted a great food venue, but also a great drinking venue,” he says. “I also love coffee and cake as much as great cocktails, so I thought, ‘Let’s bring it all to one venue’. In all my venues I like to reach out to a large cross-section of people. I love the randomness of A&C and the different customers we attract each week. I think that’s part of its draw.”Damian explains that one of the biggest challenges along the way to the opening was convincing the bank of its potential. “I bought the properties that were on the verge of collapse and presented them with the idea,” he explains. “It took a while but they eventually

came on board and have been big supporters since.”

DELIBERATELY SPONTANEOUSAlexander Lotersztain runs the design firm Derlot and collaborated with Damian to bring Alfred & Constance to life. He says that one of the pitfalls of A&C’s scope was ensuring that the different areas worked together. “The challenge was to create a sense of balance and de-sign consistency, coupled with functionality and flow. I wanted the space to feel organic, casual and spontane-ous but with a design coherence.“This is a mix of many places — more like theming a theatre show, where the characters are the clients,” says Alexander. “I wanted the customers to feel different things, to be transported, to play in these different en-

36

vironments to suit their mood. One day you might feel like partying at the Tiki, another listening to some good music at the Tunes bar, or having a romantic drink at the underground bar. There is something for every tribe.”Alexander remarks that a bunch of guests have com-mented they feel like they are walking into some-body’s living room. “That’s the ultimate compliment; that’s the level of comfort we wanted to create,” he says. “Everyone has a favourite zone, couch or art-work. We wanted to create that sense of endless dis-covery within the venue. I think people enjoy being part of the discovery process.”

AVOID OVER-POLISHWhile in charge of the aesthetics, Alexander wanted to

avoid a venue that was too polished, and instead create a space with ‘soul’; an atmosphere in part created by a huge collection of objects and furniture found around the world over a 15-month period.Alfred & Constance creates a theatrical experience for guests, highlighted by the elaborate interior designs (like set pieces) and special touches like the spinning wheel at the Tiki Bar — spin the wheel and get a free drink or a kiss from the bartender. A different bar dis-plays drinks in medicinal cabinets with the strongest stuff only accessed when a guest can read the bottom line on an optometrist’s chart.“I guess we did something that was pretty bold,” says Damian. “We backed food in a major way. We put in wood ovens, we put five concepts under one roof, a

wood-fired restaurant, a café, a beer garden, a tiki bar and basement bar. We are opening a late-night pizze-ria next door.”

GETTING TIKI WITH ITThe feisty spirit of tiki, which strongly informed the design of the White Lightning Bar but other aspects of the venue as well, inhabits Alfred and Constance. Al-exander says that he wanted to create a distinctly Aus-tralian tiki, rather than just transporting the elements of such a theme from the US. “I think tiki goes with the weather. The spirit of choice, rum, also has all the elements of a feel-good bar: summery, lit and fun. We wanted to create a fun place but not typically tiki and we definitely incorporated Australian elements of lo-

“A different bar displays drinks in medicinal cabinets with the strongest stuff only accessed when a guest can read the bottom line on an

optometrist’s chart.”

37

cal surf culture. So it’s an Australian tiki bar.”On what makes a bar ‘tiki’, Damian says that when it’s done right, it creates a bit of adventure for guests: “Tiki is really all about escapism. It’s almost tacky, but so much fun. I think for a great tiki bar it’s about using fresh fruit and great rum: get the basics right and the customers love it.” Superstar bartender from New York City, Richard Boc-cato, was a guest of honour at Alfred & Constance in the lead-up to the grand opening last October. Damian says he was fascinated by the tiki bar movement in the US and met Richard at his tiki bar in NYC, Painkiller (also known as PKNY). “After a long night of drinking our way through the tiki list, I convinced Richard to come to Brisbane and train our team at A&C,” says Damian.

TIKI HISTORYRichard knows a whole lot about how the tiki phenom-enon came to be. He explains that originally, ‘tiki’ was the word for the large wooden or stone carvings that are

seen in Polynesian societies in the South Pacific. It can even refer to the manhood of the first man created by the Polynesian gods. “In Western culture, the term ‘Tiki’ has come to repre-sent a relaxed and carefree lifestyle based upon the no-tion of an escape to warmer and tropical surroundings,” says Richard. “Bamboo decor and frozen pineapples aside, the crux of Tiki is about embracing the notion of escapism,” en-thuses Richard. “One must understand that in order to properly establish a successful Tiki vibe in a bar, every-one involved should be willing to let loose and have a good time. I am of the opinion that Australians are very well suited to such an endeavour!” Richard says he spent time at Alfred & Constance teach-ing the staff about the history of Tiki cocktails “as well as on becoming intimately familiar with the various fla-vour profiles associated with the spirits and ingredients that we would be working with to create these drinks at White Lightning.” It’s a serious business, this Tiki.

PARTY HOUSESo what can a venue like Alfred and Constance bring to the city of Brisbane? “I think the footprint of two typical Queensland houses, was an ideal starting point,” says Alexander. “It's a party house-type venue, there is nothing like it in Brisbane.”Damian believes that Brisbane was ready for a new vi-sion: “I think Brisbane is moving so fast that they want to be challenged.”

CONTACTAlexander Lotersztain Derlot (Interior, Lighting): (07) 3129 4379 or www.derlot.com

Chris Gibbs Design (Architect)

Dobson Projects (Builder): (07) 3219 3244 or www.dobsonprojects.com.au

Fire & Ice (Kitchen & Equipment): (07) 3855 9956 or www.fireicefoodequipment.com.au

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invisibleloudspeakers

HAPPY JAPPY

This seductively hip Japanese restaurant occu-pies a premier metropolitan possie. It sits long and low along the riverside, enabling patrons to soak in the ‘Melbhattan’ skyline view across the Yarra. Located on the promenade at Mel-

bourne’s new Hamer Hall within the Arts Centre, Sake opened its doors in August 2012.Melbourne’s Sake is the latest venture of the Urban Pur-veyor Group, headed by hospitality heavy-hitter CEO John Szangolies. With its genesis back in the mid 1970s Sydney dining scene, the company (previously known as the Bavarian Hospitality Group) has evolved to be-come an impressive 18-venue enterprise, bespoke bev-erage importation business and commissary kitchen. Its swag of outlets includes four venues in the Rocks: Ananas Bar & Brasserie, The Argyle, The Cut Bar & Grill and Lowenbrau Keller; a string of almost a dozen Bavar-ian Bier Café’s around Sydney (and Brisbane); and now three Sake Restaurants.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATIONFollowing the success of the Sake concept at the Rocks in Sydney, then Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane, this latest restaurant retains recognisable visual cues that connect it to the Sake brand roll-out and maintain consistency. Yet as appropriate to its highly cultural context, Sake also asserts its own distinct identity.

John Szangolies says: “We’re privileged to be a part of the Arts Precinct, which encompasses Hamer Hall. This inspired our use of contemporary original art-works and an active bar area for a quick pre-show drink and light meal. We worked closely with Lesley Kehoe Galleries who specialise in contemporary Japanese art. We’ve been delighted with the recommendations to date and look forward to introducing some other pieces later in the year.”

TURNING JAPANESEJohn Szangolies: “I’ve been a lover of Japanese cuisine for many years. I like the dedication that goes into prepar-ing a meal. Everything has to be precise and methodical.

Each technique is perfected and care is taken in every-thing the Japanese do. I was also inspired by a couple of contemporary Japanese restaurants I’d seen in Europe, most notably Zuma which is, coincidentally, also owned by a German. I felt there was a gap in the Australian mar-ket for a top quality contemporary restaurant, true to Japanese cuisine but also appealing to our tastes.“Timing is everything and I was introduced to Shaun Presland when I was first conceptualising this. His pas-sion and creative flair was immediately obvious. Shaun is not only an experienced chef but he trained and lived in Japan, so he’s very much ingrained in the culture. This translates into everything I wanted Sake to be. Shaun’s approach is special because it’s simple — to serve fresh

The third Sake iteration makes for a hip new addition to the ‘Melbhattan’ restaurant mix.

Story: Ailsa Brackley du Bois

Sake Restaurant & BarHamer Hall Riverside Promenade, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne(03) 8687 0775 or www.sakerestaurant.com.au/melbourne

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and vibrant cuisine with the best sake available. And we have a great front of house and back of house team in Melbourne headed by talented Head Chef Rose Ang.”Executive Chef Presland has created a clever fusion menu, giving a neat modern twist to classic Japanese din-ing. The clean and well-balanced presentation values of the venue follow on from this lead. Huge suspended cer-emonial sake barrels adorn the entrance and set the tone of reverence for Japanese cuisine and customs. Unlike traditional sake barrels, however, these ornamental ones are coloured, showing creative reinterpretation. The temperature controlled sake room and antique sake keg are unique assets. Patrons can enjoy a range of cocktails, including a cheeky sake-based Mohito, or choose some-

thing from the stunning sake and shochu menu, all made comprehensible thanks to the services of dedicated sake sommelier, Miriam McLachlan. John says: “Miriam was introduced to us having spent time in London in simi-lar positions. Her knowledge is extensive and her love of sake is infectious. We source the best possible sake direct from Japan and distribute exclusively through our restau-rants. As a result our customers have access to top quality sake at good prices.”

MULTIPLE SPACESThe interior design was managed by Sydney firm Luchet-ti Krelle, which was responsible for the chic interiors of the Cut Bar & Grill and Momofuko Seiobo in Sydney,

as well as the first two Sake venues. The approach cel-ebrates the contrast between refined, Japanese-inspired contemporary design and rustic artefacts. The idea was to demonstrate reverence for the traditional methods of Japanese cuisine and craftsmanship while still appearing inviting to the food savvy urban dining crowd who re-spond to what’s hip right now. Sake can seat around 230 people at capacity and caters for a range of dining options. Of course, with its North-facing views many diners may never feel the need to go inside at all: The alfresco chairs add a real zing to the front of the venue. The turquoise works well against the urban grey environment, lifting the spirit of the façade. Once inside, the first stop is the granite-topped sushi

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bar where you can prop yourself up on one of the ex-quisitely chunky wooden stools to dine solo and survey the unique techniques employed by the traditionally trained chefs. The main open plan dining area is beautifully under-stated and warmly welcoming. Communal dining op-tions abound in the form of conventional tables, com-fortable leather booth seating or banquet-style dining tables for bigger parties. There are also three petite pri-vate dining rooms for intimate gathering. Upstairs is a mezzanine with a low ceiling line that creates the feel of a private club, perfect for special events. On the land-ing at the top of the stairs an elegantly decorated over-sized bonsai tree glitters whitely.

COLOUR & LIGHTThe colour palette at ground level is all about different hues of mid-blue and teal upholstery, with aged smoked oak joinery here, there and everywhere. In Japan lac-quered wood is a preferred feature, however as it’s really

hard to keep that looking good, Luchetti Krelle recom-mended the German approach of smoking the oak and not staining. Meanwhile, the wide floating oak floor-boards help off-set the decorative bronze stainless steel backlit louvres across the bar frontage.Fantastic shadow play and natural mood lighting is a real feature inside. This is due in part to the position of the restaurant and its layout. The lighting is suitably low key, allowing other elements to take precedence. John agrees: “I always prefer lighting that makes people look and feel good and makes the food look enticing. I’ve had great feedback on the warm lighting at Sake, and of course the very inviting view of the cityscape, Princes Bridge and the river.”

SOUND FACTORSSound is something that Sake patrons might be expected to have an educated ear for, given many of them are flow-ing to and from events in Hamer Hall. Extra care was tak-en to get this element right. Unnecessary sound is kept

down thanks to enviro-spray recycled newspaper. This was sprayed on the ceilings to soften the acoustics, and is ‘magic stuff’ according to Rachel Lucetti.Richard Hallam of YSI (Your Sound Investment) says it was a difficult audio installation, due to the fact the space has very few real ceilings and what it does have are very high. The challenge was to design an audio system capable of producing a level greater than the noise generated by the patrons, while still sounding pleasant and unobtrusive. On the ground level he achieved this via a Cloud Venue 4 with RSL-6 remote control plates dotted about the space, in addition to a number of audio points for plumbing in iPods. Richard says: “We had to mix and match a number of brands of loudspeakers and do our EQ homework to get the desired result. Generally, we use dbx products for EQ and compression/limiting. Some loudspeakers were installed between structural beams (Bose DS40SE), while others (Bose DS40FW) were installed in the only flat ceiling in the venue.”

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WIRED UPIn the walls of the sushi counter and both bars, YSI discreetly embedded rectangular loudspeakers (Altron-ics CO871). Richard says: “They’re hard to spot and have been painted to suit the decor. They can be re-ally loud and with the right EQ curve work very well in this space.” Meanwhile, the two private rooms on the ground level have one small ceiling speaker in each and are zoned independently of the main areas. The loudspeakers are positioned to give ‘audio screening’ to the people in the private dining rooms, so that peo-ple outside can’t hear speech from these rooms, even though they are acoustically open. Richard says: “The sound was tricky up on the mezzanine as the ceiling is very low and finished in a corrugated sound dead-ening material. It was not meant to be punctured with loudspeakers, so using smoke and mirrors we managed to bounce the sound across the space from the air-con-ditioning using six Quest MS401s. This did the trick.”Upstairs Richard says: “There’s a microphone point built into the joinery at the waiters’ station, utilising the feature in the Cloud Venue 4. We generally use a Shure SM58 wireless system for this purpose for good feedback rejection and it works well, even in the most awkward places. This property in particular contains a fair bit of steel work which can be an issue, but the end result has been good and on budget.”

CONTACTSLuchetti Krelle (Architect): (02) 9699 3425 or www.luchettikrelle.com

Ke-zu (Chairs & Pendant Lights): (02) 9669 1788 or www.kezu.com.au

YSI — Your Sound Investment (Audio): 0419 577 572 or www.ysi.com.au

JSB (Architectural Lighting): (02) 9571 8800 or www.jsblighting.com.au

Interlec Services (Lighting installation): (08) 9418 7800 or www.interlecwa.com

Nightlife Music: 1800 679 748 or www.nightlife.com.au

CREATURE COMFORTSIt’s easy to feel comfortably immersed, wherever you at Sake. Even the unisex bathroom suite has a soothing appearance, and the discreetly luxurious feel of a pri-vate health spa. The treatment is simple, slate centric, darkly masculine and works well.Many classic Japanese motifs, joinery construction methods and innovative custom elements feature throughout the site. Custom joinery including stools, tables and screens show the Japanese dedication to precision. Other traditional Japanese elements used in-clude Obi — the belts from kimonos stitched to form a draped installation of a wall hanging, which looks rath-er like it’s dancing above the crowd.Sake is a carefully considered and stylishly executed space. There’s no question that location does help. As John admits: “We love being part of the dynamic Mel-bourne Arts Precinct. And we’re delighted the discern-ing Melbourne public have embraced our restaurant and made it their own. The thing that stands out about Melbourne people is their loyalty. Once you’ve im-pressed them they come back again and again.”

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The old James Street Bistro has been a Fortitude Valley fixture for more than 10 years. Owned by the Andronis family, James Street was a profitable, well-regarded restaurant with a long future ahead of it. Or not! The Andronis family took the courageous move of entirely reinventing their venue. “It would have been really easy to continue trading as we had. But we noticed the dining landscape of Brisbane was changing and we wanted to reinvest in the future,” said Maria Andronis.

The result is Chowhouse, a very contemporary eat-ery that embraces its alfresco assets, and dishes up sharing plates and an innovative cocktail list. “We’ve got a great location,” noted Maria. “But around 75 percent of our seating is outside. We wanted to preserve that relaxed, alfresco ambience, but also increase our footprint.”

KP Architects stepped in. KP principal, Kon Panago-poulos, has been a long-time collaborator of the An-

dronis family (he designed the original James Street Bistro, in fact) and immediately understood the vision.

“Most successful has been Kon’s very subtle zoning of the space,” said Maria. “Previously, people were quite reluctant to sit inside, and we’ve found that’s changed. We’ve also noticed how one outdoor zone has been quickly adopted by the grazing and drink-ing crowds, while those here for a meal gravitate to the other zone. It’s fantastic to see a design work on a functional level as well as an aesthetic one — we’re getting the most out of our floorspace now.”

Chowhouse, with Tim Kemp helming the kitchen, has been enthusiastically received by locals and food bloggers. It’s brave to mess with a successful formula but the Andronis family have future-proofed their investment.

ChOWINg dOWNChowhouse:39 James Street, Fortitude Valley QLD(07) 3852 5155

Story: Christopher Holder

CONTACTSKP Architects: (07) 3358 1188 or www.kparchitects.com.au

Eurofurn: (07) 3216 5887 or www.eurofurn

Tait (Jak & Jill Setting): (03) 9419 7484 or www.madebytait.com.au

Koskela (Pendant Lighting): (02) 9280 0999 or www.koskela.com.au

The Modern Furniture Store (Dining Chairs): (07) 3254 3885 or www.themodernfurniturestore.com.au

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Everything old is new again. In the case of the revolving restaurant on the 47th floor of Sydney’s Australia Square building, a fabulous refit has enhanced the ‘good bones’ with sleek modern finishes and a fresh new menu, catapult-ing 360-degree dining firmly into 2013.

The building was designed by Harry Seidler & Associates and completed in 1967. In its day it was a landmark design, our first true skyscraper, breaking all the rules with its crazy donut-shape and extensive use of concrete. It was the tall-est light-weight concrete building in the world when it was built and, until 1976, was the tallest building in Sydney.

When the revolving Summit Restaurant arrived on the scene, no posh night out was complete without a Prawn Cocktail and Steak Diane at its dizzying height with the Em-erald City spread out beneath. Despite its gentle revolution of about one metre a minute, many a diner would return from a trip to the powder room, just a little disoriented – and not just from the Liebfraumilch.

Now, the skyline may have changed, but it’s no less gob-smacking. On a clear day the vista takes in the Tasman Sea, Botany Bay, the Blue Mountains, acres of glittering harbour and the landmarks that help make Sydney the self-proclaimed jewel in Australia’s crown. At night, the kaleidoscope of lights does all the talking with soft interior candlelight and chocolate banquettes lending a clubby feel.

International chef and advocate for healthier eating, Michael Moore, has owned the space (formerly the Summit Restau-rant and Orbit Bar) since 2009. Moore says the refit com-pleted in September last year, aimed to provide a space that was “darker, sexier, louder, more fun and healthier”.

ROUND & ROUND

O Bar and Dining, as it is now known, includes a central lobby bar and revolving lounge bar, plus revolving dining room and private dining room that can seat 28 or 45 stand-ing. The entire space can accommodate 400 guests stand up or 250 sit down.

“Our main vision for O Bar and Dining was to move the res-taurant to meet the market, expand the offer in our bar and offer guests a fresh new experience,” said Moore.

Changing demographics and a different approach to eating out was part of the game plan for O Bar and Dining.

The restaurant would continue to serve a high quality din-ing experience, but extend their offer to serve smaller tapas dishes and drinks from the bar. This would encourage a wider range of customers to venture up and experience the views, creating a more casual bar section to the restaurant, with the attraction of the venue being a great location for regular afterwork drinks, rather than a more formal destina-tion reserved solely for ‘special occasions’.

The menus were overhauled to subscribe to Moore’s healthy eating philosophy detailed in his latest book Blood Sugar. Many of the dishes use subtle substitutes for com-mon ingredients making them healthier, yet still delicious.

OUT THE WINDOW

To technically follow through on his creative vision for the space, Moore commissioned Mima Designs with director Mark McConnell at the helm.

“What we realised with this space, is that we didn’t have to over-design the interior with such a fabulous view outside. It’s a truly unique experience to Sydney, and we wanted to make sure everyone focused on what’s out the window, with the food, drinks and service to match,” said McConnell.

“Using much of the existing format, the finishes and lighting were extensively changed to create a darker, moodier en-vironment, focusing attention towards the view, rather than the carpet,” he added, alluding to the fact that the previous restaurant was well known for its rather garish red carpet.

Every detail of O Bar and Dining adheres to a stylish pal-ette of chocolate browns, silvers and graphites that con-trast with the spectacular views to help them blend with the venue itself.

In the bar area, soft, ambient table tealights, plush couches and deep leather chairs invite guests to feel immediately at home. The new lobby bar is one of Moore’s favourite features. “I love to sit up at the new central lobby bar. It’s the perfect spot to perch on a stool and watch the cocktail bar staff mix classic and contemporary cocktails,” he said.

The bar offers a tempting menu that features simple and popular dishes. The lunchtime menu offers a selection of quick, casual dining options such as chilli pastrami burgers, and New York-style sandwiches, while the evening menu offers the same simple food with a more luxe twist, such as lobster and crab sandwiches, seared beef sliders and yellowtail tacos.

LOBBY BAR

McConnell says his vote for the biggest and most dramatic change to the restaurant is the striking curved lobby bar. “Originally a sunken bar, it only suited waiter service and served the wrong way. The new concept relied upon cus-tomers being able to purchase drinks from the bar directly, so it was completely re-planned, providing new refrigera-tion, custom cocktail serving stations, drinks display and lighting. The new bar is silver leafed and new black granite finishes custom cut to the building’s radius.”

The private dining room, Salon Privé, a partnership with Champagne Taittinger, offers a more intimate revolving ex-perience. The room was designed by Moore and renowned New York designer Thomas Bucich and features silver leaf walls, glowing wall panels for elegant ambiance and gold mohair touches, giving the room a luxurious feel.

Australia Square’s revolving restaurant has clearly come of age. But some things never change: that view is still amaz-ing, but it can still take a few moments to find your bearings after a trip to the bathroom.

O WhAt A vIeW!O Bar & DiningAustralia Square, 264 George Street, Sydney NSW(02) 9247 9777 or www.obardining.com.au

Story: Julia Langham

CONTACTSMima Design (Designer): (02) 9958 2273 or www.mima.com.au

Proactive Building Solutions (Builder): www.proactivebuildingsolutions.com.au

Custom Stainless Interiors (Stainless Steel): (02) 9894 2833 or www.csinsw.com.au

Mark Stanford & Associates (Specialty Finishes): 0411 644 337

Cavalier Bremworth (Carpets): (02) 9932 2600 or www.cavbrem.com.au

Bertoia by Knoll (Dining Chairs): www.dedece.com.au

NEOZ Lighting (Table Lamps): (02) 9810 5520 or www.neoz.com.au

Nightlife Music: 1800 679 748 or www.nightlife.com.au4848

vIeW Of furNItureWhile the building itself was intrinsically modernist, the space, which had not seen a refit in 12 years, needed paring back with a focus on quality finishes which com-plement rather than compete with the vista. New furni-ture included: crocodile leather table tops (40 years of starched linen was given the flick), Bibendum armchairs and Mademoiselle side chairs. The banquette seating was re-upholstered in dark microsuede with the frames featuring a hand-applied charcoal marble stucco finish and the famous red carpet now updated with a soft chocolate pile. Custom-made twisted driftwood floor lighting sculptures were designed by Michael Moore.

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GOING WITH THE GRAINA luxury hotel takes on the bar specialists.

Story: Julia Langham

Grain:199 George Street, Sydney NSW (02) 9250 3114 or www.grainbar.com.au

Surely there’s room at the Circular Quay end of Sydney’s George Street for one more gorgeous bar? Say hello to Grain, a bespoke artisan bar by Four Seasons Hotel. Yes, Grain is a hotel bar, yet crucially, it has direct access from the street

and appears anything but ‘hotelish’ or ‘lobbyish’. What's more, Grain nearly didn’t happen.Dreamtime Design Australia (Mr Wong’s, Felix, Flying Fish and Argyle Bar to name just a few), was originally commis-sioned to provide a new restaurant bar within the hotel. The Woods house restaurant came next, but in researching the design, the team discovered an under-utilised function room that screamed out to be put to better use.“We really felt the hotel could better use the space of an existing function room for an amazing destination bar for locals and hotel guests alike,” said Dreamtime’s chief dreamer, Michael McCann.He and his design team (Jade Bolton and Xavier Mouche) set about convincing hotel management and the hotel’s owners to take a punt on providing another watering hole, in an already well watered area of the city. Yet after only a few of months in operation, it has proved to be a wise move.“The suggestion by the designers was definitely worth in-vestigating,” said General Manager Four Seasons Sydney, Vincent Hoogewijs. “The room that we transformed into Grain was always the last function room to sell and in a short time it has already proved profitable for us. Michael has done a great job. The bar is beautiful and very suc-cessful.”

ARTISAN BARPositioned overlooking George and Alfred Streets at Cir-cular Quay off the hotel’s lobby, Grain is a welcoming blend of craft and class with a casual indoor/outdoor feel that, let’s face it, Sydney does so well.It’s a bar that pays homage to the origins of grain-based al-cohol and the intricate grains in the hand-made timbers. The Woods restaurant continues the timber-led theme with reference to wood smoke and wood grilled food.“Grain has been designed as a unique ‘artisan’ bar; a blend of both artisan design and artisan operation,” said Mr McCann.On entering the bar guests are drawn to a quietly spec-tacular central island bar clad in giant curved slabs of sus-tainable Queensland blackbutt timber over a frosted glass inner core with hand-crafted woodwork by Athol Wright

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CONTACTSCountry Design Furniture (Joinery): 1800 211 101 or www.countrydesignfurniture.com.au

Touchstone Building (Engineering): (02) 9565 0000

Opal Lighting (Bespoke Lighting): 0419 405 696

Axolotl (Copper Wall): (02) 9666 1207 or www.axolotl.com.au

AGP (Glass): (02) 9671 0000 or www.agpgroup.com.au

Cavit & Co (Museum Lamp): (02) 9509 2722 or www.cavitco.com.au

Ke-Zu (Kenneth Cobonpue Artwork): (02) 9669 1788 or www.kezu.com.au

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of Country Design Furniture.Within the bar a custom designed up-lit wall of bottles by local structural specialist Noel Bowden and light-ing supplier Opal Lighting/Tim Barry seems to float in mid air.The walls are clad in American cherry wood, adding a subtle shade of red to complement the use of warm vi-brant copper throughout the bar and one wall features a back-lit section of laser-cut perforations behind the sol-id veneer front in a stylised delta pattern, which glows softly from within, bringing out the natural red of the cherry wood. Another timber wall features a beautiful inlay of antique copper metal in the veneer.Large-grained timber doors featuring a patchwork of Australian hardwood provide access directly from the street as well as the hotel lobby.Amazingly, the feature fireplace clad in Vavona burl timber has been shaved from the root of a giant North American Sequoia Redwood.“This represents perhaps the ultimate in recycling by the use of the root of the tree,” explained McCann. “It also features hand-made copper-clad rocks by Axolotl Liquid Metals, inspired by the stunning cast bronze fire features of New York artist Elena Colombo.”Fully retractable eight-foot glass windows open to glimps-es of the Quay over a native garden of slow-growing Aus-tralian grass trees (they take up to 100 years to grow just one metre high), while an eclectic mix of commissioned

artworks link the individual elements of design.“One of my favourite features of the bar is the commis-sioned artwork (Salago palm pulp and metal wire sculp-ture wall hanging titled ‘Little People’ from Philippines artist Kenneth Cobonpue) that features hundreds of lit-tle men crawling all over the wall — it is really unusual with a sense of humour,” said Mr Hoogewijs.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGEIn another move to set apart the bar from its hotel ori-gins, Grain is helmed by David Ramos Hernandez, an international bar manager with a canny knowledge of the Sydney market. He set up and managed the popular small bar, Low 302 in Surry Hills, as well as stints work-ing in The Argyle, Bayswater Brasserie and Longrain.Staff are dressed in clothing by edgy Surry Hills designer, Saxony. Mr Hoogewijs says it’s to make punters feel con-nected and relaxed in a chic and classy, yet casual vibe.“The clothes are black and white so you can still tell the staff from the guests,” he laughs.With a menu designed by chef Hamish Ingham — also an import from Surry Hills who owns the one-hatted popular eatery Bar H — includes the likes of Deep Fried Old Man’s Saltbush with aioli, Oysters by Steve Feletti, yabbies with lemon and herbs, and Grain’s own dry-aged beef short rib burger. Washed down with a be-spoke Grain lager crafted by The Rocks Brewing Co, it’s taken summer in the city to a whole new level.

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On the mezzanine level of Guerrilla Bar in Sydney’s inner west is a ‘gentleman’s lounge’, for the traditionalists. “I think I was influenced by the segregation of men and women, post-dinner time, in a Victorian home,” says designer Lass-ie Ng from Interior Arc. “While women moved on into the beautiful lounge room with a high ceiling and piano with heavily decorated carpet, the men would remain in the din-ing room to discuss business and the news of the world, smoking cigars, and drink their whiskies.” She describes the perfect modern version of such a blokes’ room as “a dark interior with chesterfield leather lounges, bevelled-edge mirrors, and possibly some gold trims”.

Ladies don’t miss out, though, in this semi-detached heritage building sympathetically converted to a new wine

bar. Downstairs has colonial antique lounges, and the first floor showcases embroidered European furniture alongside heritage fireplaces. “The Guerrilla Bar has a strong reflection of a 19th century Victorian house within a contemporary setting,” says Lassie. “I had a lot of influence from my first visit to the historic Vaucluse House earlier in the year.”

The design team and owners attended private auctions around Sydney to build the collection of furniture and arte-facts such as church pews and backyard accessories. The lighting was custom made by a friend of one of the owners.

“I think as a designer, if you have a concept idea, you should take it to the max. As an architect once said to me: ‘If you are going to do something, do it well or don’t do it at

guerrILLA tACtICSGuerrilla Bar:207-209 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW

Story: Lucie Robson

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all!’” continues Lassie. “The design of space is continuously evolving. To acquire original and unique pieces of antique furniture takes time, therefore, the character of the bar will continue to develop through time. I personally find it difficult to see the bar as ‘completed’ as such.”

The supergroup of owners Sven Tydeman, Tim Pullen and Richard Neville Dobson (hint: ’90s kids might recognise this face from somewhere) were good mates before opening Guerrilla, which is also quite a restaurant, headed by chef Zane Heemi, formerly of Becasse. The venue also features live music and live art from local artists. Not so Victorian, but all the better for it. Interior Arc: (02) 9191 7328 or www.interior-arc.com.au

Inner-city Potts Point now has a venue that is a little bit of everything: a bar, a restaurant and a nightclub with function space to match.

Guests at The Village can munch on breakfast, lunch or din-ner across two levels or in one of the area’s only courtyards. Old school mates James Moses and Andrew De Saxe, now thirty-somethings with different established careers, decid-ed to join forces to start a new business. They collaborated on the design, too. James designed the floor layout and bar plans, as well as the all-important courtyard. Andrew later added some revisions, and recruited some family members to lend a hand. His mother Colleen helped with the design of the interior and his sister Michelle assisted with selecting key features and fittings.

Andrew and James saw a space in the local market for a venue that was a bridge between a small bar atmosphere and a large function space capacity. “Potts Point/Kings Cross was crying out for a venue like The Village Potts Point; a relaxed, upmarket bar/pub where locals and others travelling to the area could come for a relaxed atmosphere with a strong emphasis on great food and quality drinks,” says Andrew, who moved into hospitality after running his own finance business for 12 years. “The shift in the econ-omy has also had people searching for destinations where they can enjoy high quality food at a low cost, which is im-portant to us to provide.

“We’re trying to capture the food, bar and nightclub market in one at a very reasonable price point, so that everyone can enjoy a great meal or drinks with friends even if they don’t want to spend big.”

The Village can accommodate 400 guests across the vari-ety of environments.

First seen from street level is the standout courtyard. The venue was previously a popular nightclub and opened its courtyard just before winter. It was a bit of a gamble, but near-constant patronage has proved it to have paid off. Just inside is a pub-style kitchen, where diners can ob-serve the chefs behind their tiled counter. A large wine rack features prominently, just as wine does on the menu. More tiles, these ones bronze, adorn the walls of the semi-private dining space known as the Gold Room, created by the situ-ation of having a heritage wall right in the middle of The Vil-lage, from the old police station that used to stand there.

CREATING WARMTH

The interior design at The Village showcases an elegant monochromatic theme offset by a distinctive green. Homely brickwork and candles add lo-fi warmth. A spiral staircase, at the moment with plain white walls but soon to be deco-rated by a group of artists, leads up to the multi-functional second floor. Here one section of the ceiling has exposed beams, reminiscent of venues that Andrew and James vis-ited in their travels. They took inspiration from venues over-seas that the locals of Potts Point might not have otherwise had the chance to experience. “The interior of the venue was based on a combination of bars in the Meat Packing District of New York. We both love the feel of those venues, so we thought it was about time that other Sydney sid-

vILLAge INNItThe Village 1 Kellett Way, Potts Point, NSW

Story: Lucie Robson

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CONTACTSB Seated Global: www.bseatedglobal.com.au or (02) 9796 7400

Zhan Mei Lighting: www.zhanmei.com.cn

ers could enjoy that kind of atmosphere,” Andrew explains. Thus, that room is called the Soho Room.

The food and drinks place an emphasis on sharing, empha-sising the communal spirit that Andrew and James hoped to foster at their venue, with pizzas and share cocktail jugs taking pride of place on the menu. “The name ‘The Village’ comes from our decision to create a place that encourages community — we want people to come to The Village Potts Point and feel like they’re part of something distinctly famil-iar,” Andrew remarks. “We want our venue to be a meeting point to meet friends and enjoy everything from a long lunch to a big night out on the weekend!”

Andrew says that he would certainly describe The Village as an ‘all-in-one’ type space, but that the concept goes be-yond that as well. “We want to be more than a pit-stop, we want The Village Potts Point to be a destination for dining, drinking and events. The main challenge for us is marketing to the different kinds of people that might prefer one aspect of the business over another.

“For instance, we could have a dinner crowd downstairs while a large-scale corporate event is being held upstairs. It’s definitely a juggling act for us, but our staff are great in ensuring that every one of our patrons is accommodated for and is enjoying themselves.

“There’s also a large emphasis on quirky little design ele-ments that give The Village Potts Point a homely feel. The Gold Room, our semi-private dining space, has a book-shelf filled with books and homewares donated by family and friends. There are quotes and messages chalked on the walls and ceilings that many people don’t notice the first time they come in, but might see after taking it all in a couple of times.”

SHARING THE LOVE

They have clear favourites from the finished product. “For both of us, the Courtyard and Outside Bar area is definitely a favourite. It’s the biggest drawcard for us as a venue, and is a really popular space. We love sitting out on the white couches on a sunny afternoon and enjoying a meal and drinks with family and friends!”

“We’ve had some fantastic feedback and that’s exactly what we aim to receive,” says Andrew of the initial months of operation at The Village. “We’re constantly working to be the best venue we can possibly be, and I think our guests can see that in every aspect of the business.” Scheduled improvements include the redecoration of the upstairs multi-functional space and the addition of café facilities to the courtyard.

“We have really tried to push Sydney venues in a new di-rection with our design and the mentality of our hospital-ity. We want to be — and I think we’ve succeeded — in creating a venue where anyone of any age can come and feel comfortable. We have a young crowd coming in late on the weekends, but we also have people coming in for post-work drinks or corporate events. We even have locals popping in for a meal and a drink after a game of tennis down the road, and I think the design has really allowed this diversity in our patrons.”

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Mexican cuisine is on fire in Australia. Restaurants touting ‘authentic’ Mexican and the end of Tex-Mex started popping up a few years ago, and their number has only been growing. Perhaps unsur-prisingly, the trend didn’t come from Mexico,

but New York, where it seemed that if you weren’t dishing out soft tacos and moles, you were behind the times. The combina-tion of fresh ingredients, heat, strong flavours, and the fact that we’re all rediscovering it after decades of Old El Paso take-home kits, has only intensified our craving for the food of Mexico, and operators are cottoning on.Paul Wilson, Chef Director of Melbourne Pub Group, has been following this trend at a distance. The first instances of his Mex-ican food started popping up at Newmarket, which while not authentic Mexican, certainly took a lot of interest in it. But as one of Melbourne’s more talented chefs, he’s not one to merely dabble. A trip to Mexico later, and we now have the full incar-nation of Wilson-style Mexican — or should that be ‘authentic’-style Mexican — at Acland St Cantina. There is, of course, the odd difference. For one, possessing a strong stomach isn’t an entry requirement to eat here. And the benefits of locally-sourced, high quality produce carry through to each of the Melbourne Pub Group’s new culinary adventures. Combining top locally-sourced ingredients and authentic Mexi-can-sourced technique is certainly a mouth-watering prospect.

SAINTLY OUTLOOKAcland St Cantina is probably the most truly St Kilda element of the Prince complex, which is also owned by Melbourne Pub Group. By day, it’s a ‘walk in off the beach in your thongs’ propo-sition. Light, airy, and colourful. By night, it’s another subter-ranean back room to settle into for some nosh and vague post-gig recollections. But the changeling venue doesn’t have to go through a transformational process as night descends, it’s actu-ally broken up into two starkly distinct areas. “We wanted a space that could be traded from dawn till dusk,” said Melbourne Pub Group Director Julian Gerner. “The little bit of natural light in the front space lent itself to daytime trade, whereas the back is very much in the deep, dark bowels of the Prince of Wales Hotel. The two parts of the business comple-ment each other.”

BY HALVESAt the front, sitting half below street level and catching most of the St Kilda sun, is the bubblegum diner. Plastic chairs and booths in retro trim, neon signage, stainless steel benchtops, custom polished aluminium lampshades that take you straight back to Gulfstream caravans, and luminescent outdoor seating in the shades of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics all liven the place up, without being uncomfortably vibrant. It’s open all day, for a coffee in the morning, a quick bite for lunch, take home

MEXI-CAN DOMelbourne Pub Group unwraps the two halves of its latest instalment at the Prince — a Mexican cantina with a light and dark side. Acland St Cantina:2 Acland St, St Kildawww.aclandstcantina.com.au

Story: Mark Davie

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tacos, or somewhere to grab a bite that will ease the burden of too many late night brews.Past the diner is the dinner-only restaurant, which trades in the lighter aesthetic for an earthier look. The original plan was to segregate the two completely and devise a ‘secret’ entrance to the back room. But given the building is “a touch of rabbit warren and a difficult thing to fire engineer” (according to Six Degrees archi-tect Mark Healy), it couldn’t quite be the total secret it was intended to be.The space has gone through its share of transforma-tions over the years, serving as the Prince pool room, and Mink Bar, but when time came to strip the remain-der of the old tenancies out, it was more like a “gothic Cornish mine nightmare,” said Healy. One element that did survive though was wall graffiti by Melbourne artist Marcos Davidson. Some of the ac-tual work has been restored and kept, but for the most part, it has been sampled and reworked as subterranean wall carvings. While not as space-junk wild as the origi-nals, the scale has been bumped up for full effect.After clearing out the detritus, Six Degrees replen-ished the parquetry, added a few non-structural brick columns to help divide up the space, bentwood chairs, lighting from Masson and neo-Persian carpet from Mr Carpets. There are also half a dozen shades of white paint used throughout the space to bring subtle varia-tions to the light. And, of course, you couldn’t have a Mexican joint without a Day of the Dead skull mosaic. While the diner will gradually layer up and coat the sheen with signs of being lived in, the restaurant fitout is rugged and already has those finishing touches.

TAKE IT AWAYThe diner has opened up a couple of new opportunities for Melbourne Pub Group to try its hand at retailing. There’s a ‘Mexi-mart’ (Julian calls it) with a few shelves

of Mexican produce for those that fancy trying their hand at cooking ‘authentic’ Mexican, as well as some lovingly packaged house-made items. “It’s probably not ‘good’ business but it’s certainly part of the presentation of the space,” said Julian. “Nothing is better as décor than product in my opinion.“You can take a little bit of one of our businesses home and impress your mates. With all the Masterchefs and My Kitchen Rules, people are obsessed these days with trying to replicate the food they eat in restaurants. They want to be able to cook like a chef and we give them the opportunity. There’s not many places around where you can actually buy the ingredients you require to cook Mexican cuisine. Whether it makes money or not, doesn’t really matter. It’s part of the magic.”Also for the first time, a Melbourne Pub Group venue is offering takeaway. “If you’ve been to the bar at Fitzroy Street, had a bit too much to drink and you want to soak it up, you can get takeaway, which will also service the public bar as well,” said Julian. “The takeaway offer will have a greater reach. People can take it home to their flat in St. Kilda. It comes with all the logistical chal-lenges of takeaway food. Making sure the food always arrives at the quality you would eat in the restaurant, so there’s a couple of little intricacies to it, including the packaging.”

SCOOPFUL OF SUGARThe last new addition at Acland St Cantina was a bit of a surprise packet. During the long process of over-hauling the Prince complex, and unearthing more ‘Cor-nish mine nightmares’, there was potential to find a few gems too. One of those happened to be an ice cream machine, one of the world’s best, a Carpigiani from Ita-ly. So along with authentic Mexican, you can also grab a scoopful of authentic ice cream too.

CONTACTSVogue Upholstery: (03) 94104545

Mr Carpets: (03) 9416 1888 or www.mrcarpets.com.au

Masson For Light: (03) 9437 0001 or sales@massonforlight.com.au

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CLUBS Venue Magazine_OL.indd 1 6/03/13 4:04 PM

Eric, as the story goes, was a strapping young sailor who only had eyes for Scarlett. Scarlett was the lovely lady in charge of a lot of love-ly ladies — the Madame of the house at the original premises (built in 1887) of what is

now the Harbour Rocks Hotel. Eric went to sea and the couple bid each other farewell but before he returned, Scarlett became deathly ill and perished. [Scarlett Fever perhaps? — Ed.] Upon his return to marry his sweet-heart, heartbroken Eric wasted away and still wanders the corridors, a ghostly permanent resident of what is now a luxurious destination.The four-and-a-half star Harbour Rocks Hotel is today a member of Accor’s boutique MGallery collection. Upon joining this club last October it has been listed alongside the recently rebranded Como Melbourne, the Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains, the Grand Hotel in Melbourne, St Moritz in New Zealand and other properties in Paris, London, Amsterdam and Bangkok. In December, the Hotel Lindrum in Melbourne also came on board, be-coming the fifth MGallery property in Australia. General Manager of Harbour Rocks, Michael Sheri-dan, and Sales and Marketing Director at Accor, David Lowe, say that there are around 50 high-end hotels in the MGallery collection, and each one has its own spe-cial identity. “The hotels in the collection have a strik-ing personality and a special story to tell, which guests experience through the hotel’s unique features and characteristics.” They believe the Harbour Rocks Hotel is one of only a handful of hotels in Sydney that really has an amaz-ing story to tell. “Built in 1887 and on the site of Syd-ney’s first hospital, you can’t deny the significance of this building and it really is an honour to be walk-ing through it every day. When it comes to MGallery and Harbour Rocks Hotel, I truly believe the hotel cap-tures the essence of what an MGallery hotel should be.”

ERIC & RED Eric and Scarlett are properly honoured by the additions of Eric’s, the hotel bar, accessible to the public from the street, and Scarlett, the new restaurant. Guests can munch on Harbour Rocks Pie and eat fresh damper for breakfast – probably a bit more gourmet than poor Eric

and Scarlett’s dates in the 1880s. Michael and David say the restaurant is a result of a complete transforma-tion of the existing space, and is a favourite element of the refurbishment. “What was (for years) a boarded up storeroom has now been re-imagined as a stunning and warm restaurant. The stone walls give the restaurant a unique and welcoming feel.”“We really take pride in bringing the story of Eric and Scarlett to life,” say Michael and David. “There are ghost tours of The Rocks which take in the hotel and the stories of the past, so we almost feel a responsibility to do what we can to keep the stories alive. “We’ve named our restaurant Scarlett and bar, Eric’s, so in a way, we’re reuniting the lovers, making sure they’re never forgotten. And aside from this, we have a lot of fun telling our guests the stories of times gone by and assuring them not to be worried if they hear a bump in the night... ‘it’s only Eric’!”The jewel in the Harbour Rocks crown is definitely the Harbour View Suite, with a view to die of consumption for — or at least an ideal spot to gaze at the harbour and identify homesick sailors returning from sea. Guests wanting a real treat can book in for a ‘Memorable Mo-ments’ package in the suite with the Sydney Symphony String Quartet serenading their dinner.

RAW ELEGANCEAccor enlisted the Sydney office of SJB for the extensive redesign, hoping for “comfort, raw elegance and charm with a twist,” as Michael and David say. “The theme was multi-faceted. We wanted to create a hotel that met the needs of the discerning traveller while still playing homage to the history of not only the building, but the area in which it stood. We also em-barked on this massive redevelopment with a sympa-thetic and careful approach so as to maintain and pre-serve the core elements of the structure, such as the sandstone walls, the windows and other original archi-tectural features.”Jonathan Richards is the Director of SJB Interiors and was responsible for the design at the Harbour Rocks. He, too, says that bringing the building’s stories to life was paramount to the redesign process. “Many lives have been involved in the history of this building and you can

HARBOUR DESIRE

Harbour Rocks Hotel34 Harrington St, The Rocks NSW

(02) 8220 9999 or www.harbourrocks.com.au

Story: Lucie Robson

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feel it as you walk down the narrow corridors. It’s every-thing that characterises The Rocks in one Hotel — tex-ture, personality, rawness, convoluted pathways. What we have done is add a new layer to the building, but ulti-mately our work is just another chapter.”The exterior is now a mix of greys, blacks and rust red on the terrace house doors — a change from the his-toric maroon, beige and green often seen in the area. Sandstone does indeed feature heavily throughout the venue as the building has been stripped right back to its foundations. Plush, warm, neutral colours complement these hefty backdrops. Jonathan describes the interior as a “contemporary palette of dark timbers, travertine and glowing light”.

HOLDING A CANDLEParticularly eye-catching is the impressive pendant lighting, with some inspiration coming from the own-ers’ own house in Israel, says SJB director Jonathan Richards. “The lighting needed to simulate candle-light, as though these rough brick walls were being lit by street lanterns. The idea made the clients think of a light fitting they have at their house with hand made porcelain shades. So we contacted the supplier and had

a custom made fitting designed on a massive scale with 120 individual hand-made porcelain lamp shades. It also works beautifully with the Kevin Reilly wax can-dles over the front desk.” SJB worked with acclaimed lighting designer Donn Salisbury for the hotel’s façade. “My favourite part is the entry lobby,” says Jonathan. “We installed old railway sleepers for the entry floor and made the front doors solid so you couldn’t see in. When the visitor arrives, the space opens up and there’s a lovely private residential feel to the lobby. With Ger-vasoni Ghost chairs and a library full of eclectic novels, you can sit there for hours with a drink and feel it’s your own private sanctuary.”The Accor team are more than pleased with the warm response from guests. “Those that have been regular guests over the years have commented on how they finally see how this amazing and charming building should be presented,” say Michael and David. “The textures and small touches of the past have been seam-lessly integrated and brought to life and this really gives our guests a treat for the eyes and the soul. Visitors feel as if they are really participating in the living history of the building.

CONTACTSSJB (Architecture) (02) 9380 9911 or www.sjb.com.au

Anibou (Artek Pendant Lamp) (02) 9319 0655 or www.anibou.com.au

Hub Furniture (Catellani & Smith Fil de Fer) (02) 9217 0700 or www.hubfurniture.com.au

Corporate Culture (Hay dining chair) (02) 9690 0077 or www.corporateculture.com.au

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A phoney ’50s coke machine makes for a secret en-trance to a space you’d never expect: welcome to The Soda Factory, Surry Hills’ newest late-night sweet spot. They’ve stripped out the Mars Lounge, Tone and all that fleshy interior to present the stunning industrial bones of this beautiful old building, and there’s a top-notch cocktail menu to match.

And with its late-trading license, The Soda Factory will have the tunes sorted. Expect a regular offering of live acts, international DJs and local vibe controllers to engineer your nights from chill in the early evening to some sweet dancefloor action later on.

Bar owner and Experience Entertainment Director, Graham Cordery says, “Surry Hills is one of the most diverse and trendy suburbs in the world, but when it comes to late night offerings, there’s been something missing.”

He knows how to make a place work, too: with Experi-ence Entertainment at the helm of Ivy’s weekly shindigs for the last 2.5 years and bringing home AHA’s Best Entertainment Venue two years in a row, his standards for a good night out are understandably pretty darn high. “Just like Surry Hills, there’s going to be a little bit of something for everyone when we open our doors.”

Joining Cordery’s wealth of experience in the electronic music scene, partner Michael Chase brings a world of experience in live music acts to the table, mastering the delicate confluence of old-school classics and con-

temporary beats, from Buddy Holly to Dangermouse. Chase’s background at MGM Distribution paints a pic-ture of one of the most well-respected names in the music industry — and with that clout comes some se-rious pulling power.

Aside from big names, early evening punters might be treated to some select live sets. “The live music component will also try to support some of the best up-and-coming and indie talents out there,” Chase explains. “Earlier in the night or mid-week nights we’d love to get some great acoustic sets on.”

But don’t worry if you left your dancing shoes at home: you’ll still find a spot at the bar to suit, with a drinks menu designed by mixologist Mitchell Warters, straight from London. He’s spent the last two years perfecting the art of the delicious drop at Richard Branson’s ex-clusive members-only Roof Gardens cocktail bar. But rather than a traditional serving of spirits and classic cocktails, Warters will be creating some unique and exciting signature drinks for The Soda Factory to com-plement the old school atmosphere.

The soda syphon will also make a triumphant return with a boozy makeover, serving up share cocktails of sparkling apple and rum as well as gin and lem-onade and similar classic pairings. 12 classic cock-tails, 12 original cocktails and late-night service: there should be no shortage of delicious dance-floor lubrication going on at this hip new bar.

POP CuLtureThe Soda Factory:16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills NSW(02) 8096 9120 or www.sodafactory.com.au

6666

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Electro-Voice ZLX

ZLX is the next generation of portable active loudspeak-ers from Electro-Voice, tempting potential customers with 1000W of power and supreme portability. Passive versions are available too. The ZLX has a single-knob DSP control with an LCD display and choice of presets, and it can still double as a floor monitor. Pricing from $499.Bosch Communication Systems: (02) 9683 4572 or www.boschcommunications.com.au

PreSonus 32-Channel StudioLive

The StudioLive 32.4.2AI 32-channel digital console from PreSonus features next-gen Active Integration technology, including a dual-core computing engine that packs over 64 times the processing power and 10,000 times more RAM than the old StudioLive 24.4.2. Integrated communications makes possible wireless control of the mixer without requir-ing an external computer. The 32.4.2AI has 32 Class A XMAX mic preamps, 32 line inputs, 14 aux mixes, four subgroups with variable output delay, Fat Channel dynamics processing and parametric EQ, a 48x34 FireWire S800 audio interface, and more.NAS: (03) 8756 2600 or www.nationalaudio.com.au

QSC AcousticPerformance

QSC has launched the AcousticPerformance line of pro-fessional, two-way, full-range loudspeakers ideal for a vari-ety of installed sound reinforcement applications. All mod-els feature a three-inch voice coil, high power-capacity compression driver combined with high-output woofers. AcousticPerformance grilles are unadorned, eliminating the need to cover-up logo treatments, and are available in black and white finishes.Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or www.tag.com.au

Soundcraft Si Expression

Soundcraft’s Si Expression range of compact, digital con-soles comes in three frame sizes, Si Expression 1, 2 and 3 offering 16-, 24- and 32-fader and mic inputs respectively. All three are capable of up to 66 inputs to mix by connect-ing any Soundcraft stagebox or by connecting additional inputs over MADI or AES/EBU. The mixer is loaded with processing and features a colour touchscreen and Sound-craft FaderGlow. There’s processing on every channel and optional expansion/interfacing cards.Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

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Glen Hotel Sharpens Up

The Glen Hotel, one of the oldest trading licensed premises in Queensland, has refurbished and upgraded its function room facilities. JVG Sound Lighting & Visual installed a mix of audio, lighting and audiovisual features to upgrade the venue into a ‘smart room’ using the latest technologies. Guests will now view video using the new Screen Technics trapdoor mo-torised screens, recessed into the ceiling. Interactive HDMI and VGA audio inputs have been installed throughout the ‘smart room’ so no matter the setup, simple audio connectivity is always available. JVG Sound Lighting & Visual installed lighting to blend harmoniously with the new design by using J Lighting RGB Tape fitted throughout the room enabling multiple-colour backlighting to suit all occasions and tastes. White J Audio SV6i pro audio speakers and J Audio back two-way ceiling speakers were installed throughout the room for greater sound quality. Control of all new devices for the end user has been made easy due to the installation of the Ezi 22-inch touchpanel system.JVG Lighting & Visual: 1300 584 584 or www.jvgsound.com.au

Martin Place Bar Gears Up

Martin Place Bar is a Sydney downtown institution — a favourite of suits and revellers alike. But its audiovisual stocks were letting the venue down. DJs and promoters weren’t happy with the quality on the weekend, while the outdoor speakers were getting too old and weathered to be serviceable. Sydney AV hospitality specialists, Showtime, was called in to provide a new lighting and sound system design that would provide the punch and razzle required. Inside, a Martin Audio AQ system rules the roost, providing an even, distributed coverage down the length of the long room. Martin Audio 18-inch subs are rolled in on a Friday and Saturday night for extra low-end reinforcement. Outdoors, an unusual mini-array of three-inch QSC weather resistant speakers provide surprising oomph for the large L-shaped seating area and drybars. Chauvet Q-Spot 260 LED moving lights and Q-Wash 260s are controlled by a Martin Light Jockey at back of house, loaded with scenes programmed by Showtime: “It’s a versatile lighting setup with plenty of bang for the buck,” said Showtime’s Asher Daoud.Showtime: (02) 9569 1000 or www.show-pro-com.au TAG (Martin Audio): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au

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Spinal 44 Swivel

Paustian Spinal 44 Swivel Chair with castors is related to the Paustian Spinal Table series and is designed by the Danish designer and architect Paul Leroy. The Spinal 44 Swivel is available with or without castors and in both leather or fab-ric upholstery, providing an excellent solution for a meeting, conference or dining room chair. The Spinal 44 Swivel chair is also available with or without arm rests, on runner-legs, with swivel base with or without castors, or as bar stool. Available in fabric or leather and ships with a five-year warranty.Pago Designs: (02) 9700 9100 or www.pagodesigns.com.au

‘Tub’ Chairs

Ben & Jerry fitout by Saunders Global, with the In-dustry barstools by Cafe Culture. Industry combines a steel frame with a solid timber seat. It’s stackable, and ships with a 12-month warranty. Trade price: sub $200+GST.Cafe Culture: (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au

Gotham Barstool

Designed by Dario Delphin, the Gotham WSG barstool is an exciting new addition to the Gotham family. Gotham WSG’s beautifully crafted solid beech frame is available in a wide range of stained and painted finishes, providing a versatile and stylish solution for any bar area. Gotham WGS’s seat is made of fire retardant polyurethane rigid foam and is avail-able in a choice of six bi-colour and two mono-colour shell finishes, as well as an upholstered option. Manufactured in Italy. Price: from $644.Chairbiz: 1300 888 434 or www.chairbiz.com

Forest Barstool

Designed to be viewed from every angle, the various per-spectives trick the eye into thinking each identical Forest stool is different. Random placement helps achieve an unpredictable yet harmonious arrangement — they don’t need to be perfectly arrayed to look any good. The For-est barstool consists of a chrome base with a swivel seat. The top is available in solid walnut and maple sealed with a hand rubbed natural finish or other standard finishes. Forest stools may also be upholstered.Ke-Zu: 1300 724 174 or www.kezu.com.au

Nufurn Blows ‘em Away

Hurricanes Grill in Brighton Le Sands is the largest flag-ship restaurant for the Hurricanes group, and required a large quantity of commercial furniture, all meticulously specified by the Hurricanes Group. Nufurn was selected to supply all 500+ furniture items. The restaurant is flat out with queues out the door since its opening. Hurricanes Grill Brighton Le Sands is currently the only restaurant in the group that is situated right on the beach with stunning views across Botany Bay.Nufurn: 1800 650 019 or www.nufurn.com.au

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Movidas Built Tough

Movidas, a night club-style venue in Mackay, required durable furniture with plenty of vinyls. Prototype furniture met the brief, using a lot of stainless steel, compact laminate and high performance fabrics. You’ll identify in the image: a custom upholstered round ottoman, cube stools, stainless steel drybar, and compact laminate dry bar.Prototype: (07) 3010 4369 or www.prototype.net.au

Chris Hardy Collection

Chris Hardy’s furniture collection pays careful attention to the user experience in its make up. Principles of usability, aesthetics and the environment concerning both manufacturing processes and mate-rials used are important in the development of each piece. Pictured is the plywood Pleat and Bootcut stackable ottoman.Cafe Culture: (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au

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Paustian Furniture Collection

Pago Designs Australia Pty Showroom: Unit 2 / 1 Kent Road Mascot 2020 NSWTel: 02 9700 9100 pagodesigns.com.au

Spinal Chair 80 Spinal Table, round

Spinal Table, square ASAP Chair

Spinal Chair Spinal Table, folding

Aëon Tajine

If you have ever experienced Moroccan dining, then you are likely to have encountered the distinctive earthenware dish, known as the Tagine. Reflecting the traditional cooking pot, the lamp shade design is made from a two-part spun aluminium form. The light fit-ting is available in single or dual colour options. The Tajine lighting design has both a wide and tall option and is a great fitting to light the next restaurant, bar or break-out area. Price: from $550+GST.Satelight: (03) 9399 5805 or info@satelight.com.au

Artemide Ipparco

Minimalist master designer Neil Poulton has done it again. Ip-parco’s simple sculptural form comprises a base and an upright and halo like ring. This ring is cleverly fitted with a powerful earth magnet allowing it to be moved and adjusted to a seemingly in-finite number of positions on the base including: upright or even to other magnetic surfaces in the room. The lamp has a state-of-the-art 3000K LED light source that creates a halo of warm light that provides both ambient and task lighting.Artemide 1300 135 709 or www.artemide.com.au

Inspiring House Lighting

The new Chroma-Q Inspire LED house light is a powerful multi-purpose creative lighting tool that provides a choice of beautiful whites, soft pastels and bold saturates — all from one fixture. The Inspire is able to integrate seamlessly with an existing DMX infra-structure and can be controlled by any DMX supported lighting controller. With fully homogenised colour mixing and a choice of three different lens options, the Inspire provides an excellent selec-tion of stunning mixed colours and ‘true’ whites, with no unsightly colour separation shadows.Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Peninsula LED Upgrade

Austage Melbourne is the in-house audiovisual supplier for Peninsula, Melbourne’s avant-garde waterfront event space. Recently they decided to replace their Martin SCX700 scanner lights which had for many years been dutifully lighting table tops for hundreds of events and functions. Austage decided to switch to LED lighting and again chose Martin. In fact, a whopping 166 Martin MAC101 compact LED moving heads were installed into three of the four rooms at the venue. “The size and profile of the MAC101 was perfect for the venue,” commented Michael Rankin, Austage’s Senior Technician. "They have really nice colour mixing, are very fast and extremely bright. It’s an amazing little fixture."Show Technology: (02) 9748 1122 or www.showtech.com.au

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Unipub Club Relaunch

Unipub is part of a significant group owned by the Dawn family, counting the Kingston Hotel and Civic Hotel as siblings. Unipub was formerly the ANZ’s city HQ, so we’re talking about a significant venue here, with a basement bar, a public bar, a second-floor bistro, a cocktail bar on the third and nightclub on the top floor.

The venue was looking for a freshen up of the nightclub, calling in Elite Sound & Lighting for an opinion. Elite suggested a complete re-orientation of the room, a brand new lighting spec, some extra impact for the PA (QSC KW181 self-powered subs did the trick) and some goodies for the DJ booth. The own-ers pulled the trigger and Elite went to work.

The old lighting install went hard with mirror balls (some 60 in all) and with the reliance on ‘cheesy cheap disco effects’ it was all a bit 1980s. Elite suggested a clean sweep, and the installation of some moving heads and LED technol-ogy. “We took a Lighting Design 101 approach by using LED wash for beam effects (8 x iLED Pageant FC) to provide a solid bed of beam and colour, with the LED profile fixtures (4 x SDV Pro Genesis LED Move 50W+) to do gobos on top of that with the help of a Le Maitre MVS hazer,” noted Elite boss, Dar-ren Russell.

Elite then invested 10 or 12 hours in programming the system via a Traxon e:cue Butler control system. The DJ now has more than 800 possible scene combinations available via an ‘idiotproof’ touchscreen interface.

The revamped Elevated nightclub has successfully relaunched, with takings up 20 percent in the first four months. Things are going so well that Darren and his team will be back in to install a complement of VuePix LED panels.

Elite Sound & Lighting: (02) 6260 2311 or www.elitesoundandlighting.com.auULA Group (Lighting): 1300 852 476 or www.ulagroup.com

TAG (QSC): (02) 9519 0900 or www.tag.com.au

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Introducing the new Heatstrip® Max

• High temperature output – perfect for higher ceilings or hard to heat areas

• Unique low-glow element technology – an innovative incoloy heating element produces a very gentle glow and is vandal and shatter proof – no more replacing of elements or ruining your customer’s outdoor experience with a blinding light

• No need for permanent overhead protection – ideal for smoking areas, beer gardens, courtyards etc

• Commercial grade quality & construction – full 2 year warranty

• Australian designed, engineered & assembled

Outdoor heating just got hotter

27 Rosalie Street, Springvale VIC 3171 Australia t: (03) 9562 3455 f: (03) 9548 3979

e: sales@thermofi lm.com.au www.thermofi lm.com.au

R A D I A N T O U T D O O R H E A T E R S

Heatstrip Classic

Bromic Tungsten Smart-Heat Electric

Welcome to the art of smart heating with the Tungsten Smart-Heat Elec-tric from Bromic. The Tungsten Smart-Heat Electric combines innovation and aesthetics to redefine the world of commercial outdoor heating. Avail-able in four models, the heaters are stylishly designed with an attractive black mesh, covering the elements to match any décor. The wall and ceiling mounting brackets allow heat to be directed where needed to maximise efficiency with simple one-touch on/off switch. Heaters are equipped with a spectral reflector for excellent radiant heat output and are weatherproof. The new Tungsten Smart-Heat Electric ensures your outdoor dining area continues producing revenue all year round.Bromic Heating: 1300 276 642 or www.bromicheating.com.au

Infratech Slimline

Keverton Outdoor, the Melbourne-based importers of Infratech infrared electric outdoor heaters, announces the arrival of the new Slimline range of heaters from Infratech USA. This sleek, slimline range features the same powerful Infratube radiant heating element as the ‘W’ series range, however, has the significant advantage of an adjustable ’T’ slot bracket system, for simple mounting on narrow pillars as well as wall and ceiling mounting. There are three sizes, they’re unaffected by breeze and are ideal for cafes, pubs, clubs and domestic installations. They can be installed externally or internally depending on your requirements.Keverton Outdoor: (03) 9889 6542 or www.kevertonoutdoor.com.au

7474 heatingspecial

Gas or Electric Heaters? Where to install? How many? Bromic offers the right advice and a complete solution.

Bromic provides a complimentary design service which includes analysing your floor plans, advising on heater selection, energy types, optimum heater positioning and can recommend preferred installers. Completely obligation-free, this process is designed to provide accurate advice to architects, specifiers and designers.

Bromic Heating offers complete outdoor heating solutions for hotels, restaurants, commercial spaces and high-end residential spaces. With both gas and electric heaters and a wide range of mounting options, Bromic can offer a tailored outdoor heating solution for your project.

For more information, contact Bromic Heating on 1300 276 642 or visit www.bromicheating.com.au/venue

BROMICHEATING.COM.AU/VENUE

SMART-HEATING

Aquitaine Southbank, QLD

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issue fifty two 2013

Pubs Bars Nightclubs — The Bourbon

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Heatstrip Max

Heatstrip Max is a new range of high-performance outdoor heaters, spe-cifically designed, engineered and assembled in Australia for the Australian hospitality market. Unique features include low-glow heating element tech-nology so your customers can enjoy the outdoor experience, without the blinding light. The innovative metallic ‘incoloy’ heating element means your heating system is vandal proof and virtually indestructible — no more shat-tered elements like with a glass quartz heater. Also, the high temperature output means the heaters can be installed at higher mounting points, ideal for the exposed or difficult to heat area. With the Heatstrip Max, there is no need for permanent protection from the elements, meaning it is ideal for your smoking and outdoor dining areas, beer gardens, courtyards, etc. The two models in the range (2400W and 3600W) come with an alloy casing for maximum corrosion protection (suitable for coastal locations) and multiple mounting options, with RRPs of $799 and $999.Thermofilm: (03) 9562 3455 or sales@thermofilm.com.au

Architectural Gold Series

The Cyren Bar & Grill, the newest addition to the Nicks stable of restau-rants, has installed the new Architectural Gold series of outdoor heaters from Alfresco Spaces. Alfresco Spaces is introducing the latest state-of-the-art US technology to their heater range in 2013, with the innovative ‘directional quartz elements’. This is the second generation of Infrared radiant heating that are technologically superior to current heating. The new Architectural Series, Alfresco Heater elements have a pure gold vapour applied to one side, which forces 93% of the radiant heat to the open face of the element creating 25% more heat than conventional quartz elements. The new direc-tional quartz element gives you concentrated useful heat energy. It avoids heat dissipation and interference and blocks unwanted heat at the back of the heater. All the heat goes where you need it.Alfresco Spaces: 1800 07 60 71 or www.alfrescospaces.com.au

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PREFERRED SUPPLIERS

ACCESSORIES

Allplastics Engineering Pty Ltd www.allplastics.com.au

Bar Icon Group www.bar-icon-group.com

JamFactory www.jamfactory.com.au

Kennards www.kennards.com.au

Mezzanine Wine www.mezzaninewine.com.au

PILA Group www.pilagroup.com

Raypak www.raypak.com.au

Technogym www.technogym.com

AMMENITIES

Dyson www.dyson.com.au

Jet Dryer www.jetdryer.com.au

Tradelink www.tradelink.com.au

RBA Group www.rba.com.au

ARCHITECTS

2RKS Architecture + Design

2 Winslow StreetMilsons Point, NSW 2061

T: (02) 8904 0000 F: (02) 8904 0411 www.2rks.com

BERGSTROM ARCHITECTS

Suite 103, 3 Eden Street, North Sydney NSW 2060 T: (02) 8920 1499 F: (02) 8920 1599

info@bergstromarchitects.com.au

Altis Architecture www.altisarchitecture.com

Arkhefield www.arkhefield.com.au

Axil Architecture www.axil.com.au

Baenzigercoles www.baenzigercoles.com.au

Brand+Slater www.brandandslater.com.au

BY Architects www.byarchitects.com.au

Cox Richardson www.cox.com.au

Goodwin Design www.goodwindesign.com.au

Group GSA www.groupgsa.com

Jackson Clement Burrows

www.jcba.com.au

KP Architects www.kparchitects.com.au

Luchetti Krelle www.luchettikrelle.com

Marchese www.marchesepartners.com.a

Make www.make.net.au

Nicholas Associates www.nicholasassociates.com.au

Peckvonhartel www.pvh.com.au

Pikewithers www.pikewithers.com.au

SixDegrees Architecture www.sixdegrees.com.au

SJB www.sjb.com.au

Squillace Architects+Interior Design www.squillace.com.au

Stanton Creative Group www.stantoncreativegroup.com.au

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects www.tzg.co.au

McGlashan Everist www.mearchitects.com

Webb Australia www.webbaustralia.com.au

Woodhead www.woodhead.com.au

AUDIO EQUIPMENT

Audio Logistics

Australian Distributors for:Void Acoustics, Audac, Procab, Posh Speakers, Decous & AVM

1300 859 341 info@audiologistics.com.au www.audiologistics.com.au

J Audio

Supply and Design Professional Audio Systems

(07) 5599 1551 info@jdistribution.net www.jdistribution.net

Acoustica www.acoustica.com.au

Advance Audio Australia www.advanceaudio.com.au

Atlas Sales & Marketing www.asmaust.com

Audio Product Group www.audioproducts.com.au

Bishop Audio www.bishopaudio.com.au

CMI Music & Audio www.cmi.com.au

Electric Factory www.elfa.com.au

Funktion One www.funkton-one.com.au

Group Technologies www.gtaust.com

Hills SVL www.hillssvl.com.au

Jands www.jands.com.au

JB commercial www.jbcommercial.com.au

Len Wallis Audio www.lenwallisaudio.com

Magna Systems www.magnasys.com.au

Max Home www.maxhome.com.au

McCalls www.mccallsservices.com.au

Meyer sound www.meyersound.com.au

Music Link www.musiclink.com.au

National Audio Systems www.nationalaudio.com.au

Night Works Audio www.nightworksaudio.com.au

One Productions www.oneproductions.com.au

Pioneer www.pioneer.com.au

Production Audio Services www.productionaudio.com.au

Syntec International www.syntec.com.au

TAG www.tag.com.au

Yamaha www.yamahamusic.com.au

AUDIOVISUAL INSTALLATION

Australian Venue Services Pty Ltd 5 Saywell Street, Marrickville,

NSW 2204 1300 66 31 66

info@a-v.com.au www.australianvenueservices.com.au

AV System Consultancy & Design Theatre Planning & System Design

Architectural Lighting Design NSW: (02) 9029 0281

sydney@designstage.com.au QLD: (07) 3367 2234

brisbane@designstage.com.au www.designstage.com.au

JVG Sound

Leaders in AV, Lighting, Hire, Production, Security and MATV

NSW, QLD, NT, VIC, TAS 1300 584 584

(07) 5599 1222 admin@jvgsound.com.au www.jvgsound.com.au

AMX Australia www.amxaustralia.com.au

AVICO www.avico.com.au

Avocent Australia www.connectivity.avocent.com

Axiom www.axiompl.com.au

Beyond AV www.beyonddav.com.au

BE Productions www.beproductions.com.au

Bose Australia www.bose.com.au

BOSCH www.boschsecurity.com.au

Canohm www.canohm.com.au

Castel Electronics www.castel.com.au

Clipsal www.clipsal.com.au

Clearlight Shows www.clearlight.com.au

DJW project www.djwprojects.com.au

Dynalite www.dynalite-online.com

EPSON www.epson.com.au

Herma www.herma.com.au

iMatte’sBody of Work www.techtel.com.au

Impact AV www.impactav.com.au

JBN www.jbn.com.au

Laser Vision www.laservision.com.au

Milestone Solutions www.milestone.com.au

Pulse AV www.pulseav.com.au

Venutech www.venutech.com.au

Video Pro www.videopro.com.au

YSI www.soundinvestment.com.au

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CONSTRUCTION

Global Shop Fitters

Complete commericial fit-outs design and consultancy Unit 9/17 Rothcote Crt

Burleigh Heads QLD 4220 Ph: 1300 103 755

www.globalshopfitters.com

Arcon www.arcon-nsw.com.au

Crown Commercials www.creationbaumann.com

Gibbon Group www.gibbongroup.com.au

Rohrig www.rohrig.com.au

Isis www.isis.com.au

James Clifford Construction www.jamesclifford.com.au

Liquid Lines www.liquidlines.com.au

Paynter Dixon www.paynterdixon.com.au

Premier Club Constructions www.premierbuild.com.au

Premier Building Group www.premierclub.com.au

Quality Project Management www.qpmgt.com.au

Reed Constructions Australia www.reedgroup.com.au

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION

UNE Partnerships Facilities Management

Frontline Management Project Management

122-132 Mossman StreetArmidale NSW 2350

(02) 6773 0000 www.unep.edu.au

accounts@unep.edu.au

DESIGN

MERRILL DESIGN AUSTRALIA REFURBISHMENTS

SET DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION Unit 1/9 Whyalla St Fyshwick ACT 2609

(02) 6280 5883 merrilldesign@netspeed.com.au

www.merrilldesign.com.au

Paul Kelly Design 77 Bay St.

Glebe. NSW 2007 (02) 9660 8299

www.paulkellydesign.com.au

TM DESIGN GROUP PTY LTD DESIGNERS TO THE

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Studio 5, 11 Beach Street Port Melbourne, VIC 3207

Ian Macklin (Director) 03 9646 9932 0417 147 110

imacklin@tmdg.com.au www.tmdg.com.au

Barbara and fellows www.barbaraandfellows.com.au

Bleux www.bleux.com.au

Dasch Associates www.daschassociates.com

D4 Residential & Commercial Design www.d4designs.com.au

DBI Design www.dbidesign.com.au

Dreamtime www.dreamtimeaustraliadesign.com

edge commercial interiors www.edgecommercialinteriors.com.au

Innersphere www.innersphere.com.au

Inset Group www.insetgroup.com.au

Joshua Bacon Design www.joshuabacon.com.au

Moth Design www.mothdesign.com.au

Nexus Design www.nexusdesigns.com.au

Origin Didier Design www.origindidier.com.au

Platinum Interiors www.platinuminteriors.com.au

Quattro Design www.quattrodesign.com.au

Ryder Hampton www.ryderhampton.com

DISPLAY

Mitsubishi Electric 48 Victoria Rd

Rydalmere, NSW (02) 9684 7777

www.mitsubishielectric.com.au

V ScreenIndoor/Outdoor

LED Screens(07) 5599 1551

info@jdistribution.netwww.jdistribution.net

Aquavision www.aquavisiontv.com.au

Hitachi www.hitachi.com.au

Innovizion www.innovizion.com.au

JVC proffesional www.jvc-australia.com

NEC www.nec.com.au

Panasonic www.panasonic.com.au

Philips

www.avico.com.au

Samsung www.samsung.com.au

Sony www.sony.com.au

Wilson Gilkes www.gilkon.com.au

Viewsonic Australia www.viewsonic.com

ENTERTAINMENT

Nightlife Music Managed Music, Visuals and Digital advertising solutions For more information call:

Phil Brown - National Sales 0404 556 727

phil.brown@nightlife.com.au www.nightlife.com.au

Playcom Customised Entertainment

Digital Signage systems background music and music video

Street 22, 89 Jones St, Ultimo (02) 8815 6600

info@playcom.com.au www.playcom.com.au

Platinum TV www.platinumtv.com.au

FABRIC

Dickson-Constant www.dickson-constant.com

Kvadrat Maharam www.kvadratmaharam.com

Warwick Fabrics www.warwick.com.au

FINISHES

INSTYLE CONTRACT TEXTILESContemporary Leathers

Wovin Wall6 - 8 Ricketty Street Mascot. NSW. 2020

(02) 9317 0222esales@instyle.com.au

www.instyle.com.au

Alloy Design www.alloydesign.com.au

Armstrong www.armstrong-aust.com.au

Axolotl Group www.axolotl-group.com

Bravo print www.bravoprint.com.au

Caesarstone www.caesarstone.com.au

Casf www.casf.com.au

Design Room Australia

Digiglass www.digiglass.com.au

Dulux www.dulux.com.au

Hot Metal www.hotmetal.biz

Hunter Douglas Architectural Products www.hunterdouglascommercial.com.au

Interior Art Image www.interiorartimage.com

7979

Interior Decorative Coatings www.idccolourfield.com

Laminex www.laminex.com.au

Liquid Metal Technologies www.liqmet.com

Llias www.ilias.com.au

Marblo www.marblo.com

Pet Shop Studio International www.petshopstudio.com.au

Porter’s Paints www.porterspaints.com.au

FLOORING

Finest international, local and custom-made tiles for

the commercial, hospitality & corporate market.

182-186 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

(02) 9550 5204 www.belmondotiles.com.au

Brintons Pty Limited

Level 1, 43 Pakington Street Geelong West, VIC 3218

T: (03) 5226 3200 F: (03) 5226 3242

Cavalier Bremworth Pure NZ wool carpet

More than 30 carpet styles - 1800 251 172

mrobinson@cavbrem.com.au www.cavbrem.com.au

Gibbon Group

Innovative, sustainable and high-quality interior finishes

(07) 3881 1777 sales@gibbongroup.com.au www.gibbongroup.com.au

Tappeti Level 2, 13 - 15 Levey Street

Chippendale 2008 T: (02) 9698 2735 F: (02) 9698 2788

designstudio@tappeti.com.au www.tappeti.com.au

Academy Tiles www.academytiles.com.au

Altro Flooring www.asf.com.au

Amber Tiles www.ambertiles.com.au

Ardex www.ardexaustralia.com.au

Boral Timbers www.boral.com.au

Classic Floorcoverings www.classicfloorcoverings.com.au

Dalsouople Australasia www.dalsouple.com.au

Décor Stone www.decorpebble.com.au

Designer Rugs www.designerrugs.com.au

DTAC www.dtac.com.au

Eco Flooring Systems www.ecoflooring.com.au

Eco Tile Factory www.ecotilefactory.com.au

Forbo www.forbo-flooring.com.au

Godfrey Hirst www.godgfreyhirst.com

Gunnersen Inspirations www.gunnersens.com.au

InterfaceFLOR www.interfaceaus.com.au

Karndean International www.karndean.com

Living Tiles www.livingtiles.com.au

National Tiles www.nationaltiles.com.au

Polyflor Australia www.polyflor.com.au

Rms Natural Stone www.rmsmarble.com

Rocks On www.rockson.com.au

Stone Art www.stoneartaust.com.au

Tascot Carpets www.tascot.com.au

The Andrews Group www.theandrewsgroup.com.au

The Rug Collection www.therugcollection.com.au

Tsar Carpets and Rugs www.tsar.com.au

Casino Consoles Australia www.casinoconsoles.com.au

Whitecliffe Imports www.whitecliffe.com.au

FURNITURE

FURNITURE

B Seated Australia

Leading Supplier & Manufacturer of Commercial Furniture.

7/22 Mavis St , Revesby, NSW 2212 1300 727 637

www.bseatedglobal.com.au

Contempo Furniture Pty Ltd Design and Manufacturing

of Commercial Furniture and Lighting, specialising in unique metal finishes; Metal Spinners

and Sheet Metal Fabricators (02) 9726 6794

www.contempofurniture.com.au

Prototype Commercial Furniture Manufacture, Tailor and Supply

Commercial Furniture 31 Paringa Road

Murarrie QLD 4217 1 The Crescent,

Kingsgrove NSW 2208 1300 799 376

info@prototype.net.au www.prototype.net.au

The Seatery

Custom Upholstery Specialist Factory 3, 24 Longstaff Road

Bayswater Vic 3153 (03) 9720 0042

enquiries@theseatery.com.au www.theseatery.com.au

Aero Design www.aerodesigns.com.au

Blok Furniture www.blokfurniture.com.au

BINDI Furn www.bindifurniture.com.au

Botton & Gardiner www.bottongardiner.com.au

Cafe Culture www.cafeculture.com.au

Capital Design Works www.capitaldesignworks.com.au

Cubus www.cubusconcepts.com.au

Chairbiz www.chairbiz.com.au

Comax www.comaxaustralia.com.au

Corporate Culture www.corporateculture.com.au

Corporate Express www.ce.com.au

CF Design www.cfdesign.com.au

Echelon www.echelonproducts.com

Evostyle www.evostyle.com.au

Eurofurn www.eurofurn.com.au

Form and Function www.form-function.com.au

Four Two www.fourtwo.com.au

Furniture Options www.furnitureoptions.com.au

Gadget King www.gadgetking.com.au

Globe West www.globewest.com.au

Great Dane Furniture www.greatdanefurniture.com

Hospitality Furniture Concepts www.hospitalityfurniture.net.au

Hughes Commercial Furniture www.hughescf.com.au

Iken www.iken.com.au

Instyle Seating www.instyleseating.com.au

Interstudio www.interstudio.com.au

Insitu Furniture www.insitufurniture.com.au

James Richardson www.jamesrichardson.com.au

Jardan Australia www.jardan.com.au

JMH Hospitality Furniture www.hospitalityfurniture.com.au

Matt Blatt www.mattblatt.com.au

Nufurn www.nufurn.com.au

PGR Furniture www.pgrfurniture.com.au

Pomp Furniture www.pomp.com.au

Robert Plumb www.robertplumb.com.au

Ross Didier www.origindidier.com.au

Schiavello www.schiavello.com

Sebel www.sebelfurniture.com

Space www.spacefurniture.com.au

Stylecraft www.stylecraft.com.au

Tait www.tait.biz

Zenith Interiors www.zenithinteriors.com.au

8080

HEATING

Bromic Heating Head Office: 1 Suttor Street,

Silverwater, Sydney NSW 2128 1300 276 642

F: (02) 9748 4289 www.bromic.com.au

Climate Australia Specialists in Outdoor Temperature Solutions

Unit 6, Enterprise Industrial Estate 8 Tilley Lane Frenchs Forest NSW 2086

(02) 9977 3474 0414 48 5555

www.climateaustralia.com.au

Solamagic Australia 1 Comserve Close

West Gosford. NSW. 2250. 1300 SOLAMAGIC 1300 765262442

info@solamagic-australia.com.au www.solamagic-australia.com.au

Thermofilm Australia Pty Ltd

27 Rosalie Street, Springvale VIC 3171

T: (03) 9562 3455 F: (03) 9548 3979

sales@thermofilm.com.au www.thermofilm.com.au

Alfresco Spaces www.alfrescospaces.com.au

Celmec International www.celmec.com.au

Devex Systems www.devexsystems.com.au

EcoSmart Fire www.ecosmartfire.com

Everdure www.everdure.com

Gasmate www.gasmate.com.au

Jetmaster www.jetmaster.com.au

Keverton www.kevertonoutdoor.com.au

Pure Heat www.pureheat.com.au

Realflame www.realflame.com.au

FABRICATION

OX Engineering Group Pty Ltd

Specialists in architectural metalwork,displays,metal fabrication and Signage

23 Britton St Smithfield NSW 2164 (02) 9616 7444

www.overexposure.com.au

INTERIORS

Di Emme Creative Solutions Chiaro Screens - MetaFinish

MetaFlex - Stonini Unit 3, 87-89 Moore Street

Leichhardt NSW 2040 (02) 9550 0811

www.diemme.com.au

Crown Doors International www.crowndoors.com.au

Ke-Zu www.kezu.com.au

Silent GlIss www.silentgliss.com.au

Smartstone www.smartstone.com.au

Somfy www.somfy.com.au

Tint Design www.tintdesign.com.au

Woven Image www.wovenimage.com.au

Woven Wall www.wovinwall.com

Viridian Glass www.viridianglass.com

LIGHTING

J LightingArchitectural/LED/

Stage Lighting(07) 5599 1551

info@jdistribution.netwww.jdistribution.net

Balanced Technology www.balancedtech.com.au

Coemar De Sisti Australia www.cdaust.com.au

Display Design www.displaydesign.com.au

ECC www.ecclightingandliving.com

Element Labs www.elementlabs.com

Euroluce www.euroluce.com.au

Haron Robson www.haronrobson.com.au

Illumanon www.illumanon.com

Innermost www.innermost.com.au

Illumination Physics www.illuminationphysics.com

LSW www.lsw.com.au

Mance Design www.mance.com.au

Mayfield Lamps www.mayfieldlamps.com.au

Mega Vision www.megavision.com.au

Optique www.optique.com.au

Optic Fibre Lighting www.opticfiberlighting.com.au

Osram www.osram.com.au

Passive Lighting www.passivelighting.com.au

PointOfView www.pov.com.au

Pulse Show Lighting www.pulse-ent.com.au

Satelight www.satelight.com.au

Studio Italia www.studioitalia.com.au

Tenrod www.tenrod.com.au

Yellow Goat www.yellowgoat.com.au

Xenian www.xenian.com.au

WhiteLite www.whitelite.com.a

ULA www.ula.com.au

OUTDOOR

LouvreSpan 1 Comserv Close, West Gosford,

NSW 2250 T: 1300 568 873

F: (02) 4323 1951 info@louvrespan.com.au www.louvrespan.com.au

Skyspan Umbrellas www.skyspan-umbrellas.com

Supershades www.supershades.com.au

Vergola www.vergolansw.com.au

POINT OF SALE

Fedeltapos www.fedeltapos.com

Impos www.impos.com.au

Micros Systems www.micros.com

Omnipos www.omnipos.com.au

Redcat www.redcat.com.au

SECURITY

EOS www.eos.com.au

Nightkey www.metropolisfremantle.com.au

OPOC www.opoc.com.au

SIGNAGE

Albert Smith Group www.asggroup.com.au

Face Visual Marketing Group www.facevmg.com.au

Fen Systems Australia www.fensystems.com.au

Fremont Design www.fremontdesign.com.au

Sachr Sign Strategy www.sachr.com.au 8181

You might describe modern-day Singapore as slick, safe and sterile but hardly exotic. The brand new ParkRoyal on Pickering is anything but safe and sterile, there’s a real sense of the exotic and with gardens influencing the design in so many ways, there’s very little that you’d say was ‘slick’. In fact, the hotel features over 15,000sqm of ‘skygardens’, reflecting pools, waterfalls, planter terraces, and cascading vertical greenery. There are 10-plus species of shaded trees, tall palm flowering plants, leafy shrubs and overhanging creepers that mirror the green areas of Hong Lim Park op-posite. A dramatic ‘Living Wall’ of self-sustaining green mosses and plants in the lobby bring the outdoors inside through the design. The wellness floor on Level 5 features a two-storey descent waterfall, a 300m garden walk, and an infinity pool that flows along the edge of the hotel, overlooking Pickering Street. Colourful cabanas are positioned around the pool area, in varying colours inspired by Chinese songbird cages. WOHA is the architec-tural firm responsible. Bravo.

ParkRoyal on PickeringSingapore

parkroyalhotels.com

8282

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Venue Ad - GreatNightOut 2013 FINAL.indd 1 25/03/2013 11:36:51 AM