Last year, beloved Sydney venue The Flinders Hotel closed down, with the owners partly blaming the Sydney lockout laws for the closure, but more than a year after shutting up shop it’s reportedly returning under new management.
Concrete Playground reports that the new managers of the Surry Hills joint believe they can turn around the luck of the venue, even while the lockout laws are in place.
“We’re very confident we can turn things around,” a spokesperson said. “[We’ve] changed the whole complexion…[we’re] not just a late night venue anymore.”
The new owners are reportedly hoping to get people through the doors early with a fit out that’s “a little bit upmarket”, upgrading it from its previous pub decor. They’ll also supposedly be serving up delicious food like gourmet pizzas and burgers, as well as some good wines.
There’s even more exciting news though, because the new managers reportedly want to use the venue as a live music space.
“We’re connected with a lot of Sydney bands and a lot of DJs,” the spokesperson said.
The owners also reportedly plan on inviting other local performers to come and use the space.
When The Flinders Hotel closed down in January of last year, the previous owners called the lockouts “a dire situation”.
“Most of my trade was between midnight and 5am on Friday and Saturday nights and not being able to let people in after 1.30am and serve after 3am literally killed my business,” owner Jason Ryan said.
There’s no exact opening date for the newly renovated venue just yet, but it’s said to be reopening in the lead up to Christmas.
