‘A bit traumatic’: Hatted restaurants and neighbourhood bars close across Melbourne

One of Melbourne’s most internationally regarded cocktail spots is among a spate of restaurant and bar closures across the city. Byrdi – ranked 91st in last year’s World’s 50 Best Bars longlist – has shut after seven years in Melbourne Central food court.

“This has all happened very quickly,” owner Luke Whearty said while sharing the news on Instagram. “It’s not the way that we saw things ending here. However, we were forced into a situation we didn’t have control of and it’s been pretty challenging.”

“I don’t think this is permanently a goodbye, but for now, in its current form, we have to wrap things up.”

Whearty declined an interview to clarify the reasons for the closure.

In West Melbourne, six-year-old craft beer bar Benchwarmer also called last drinks in mid-September. “We haven’t turned a profit in a couple of years,” says owner Lachlan Jones, citing a lack of both nighttime foot traffic, and a sustainable local clientele.

“With the cost of living [increasing], craft beer has been deemed a luxury item,” he says.

“I’ve seen some real beer enthusiasts who would often drink at breweries or craft beer bars … go back to the pub,” he added. Many see it as offering more bang for their buck.

The weeks leading up to the closure were “a bit traumatic” for Jones. “We got slammed and everyone was saying the same things: ‘I love this place’, ‘I can’t believe it’ … I get where they were coming from, but it was kind of a backhanded compliment at that stage.”

It emphasises the importance of not taking your local or favourite hangouts for granted.

In Brunswick East, the neighbourhood is showing big love for Tiny Bar, after owners Zac Shearer and Jamila Fontana announced that October 9 will be their last day.

After a short but sweet tenure – less than two years – Shearer is determined to go out on a high. “We were busy, figures were going up, things were positive,” the chef-owner says. “But there was the thought of going on for another two years and it going to shit …”

“You’ve got to be able to give it everything,” he says. That’s become increasingly taxing in such a small space with such a small team – and with a newborn baby at home. “I’ve mourned … and now I feel really free. It’s one of the smartest decisions I’ve made.”

This winter also saw the shuttering of two of the city’s hatted restaurants. Scott Pickett’s South Yarra fine diner Matilda closed to become Kiki’s Tavern, an all-day eatery by Julien Moussi’s Venues by Only group (Godby Hotel, Beehive Hotel). “It made sense from a commercial perspective to pass the baton, and being able to do that with a trusted hospitality group felt like the right way to let go of such a special site,” Pickett says.

His venues have had an uncertain 12 months. The company that owned four Pickett restaurants – Smith St Bistrot, Chancery Lane, Matilda 159 and Longrain – collapsed last spring before the chef found new financial backers in July.

Meanwhile, destination diner No. 7 Healesville had its final service on August 16, wrapping up seven years in the Yarra Valley. “We are finishing at a point where our offering has never been better,” the team wrote in its closure announcement.

Two-hatted chef Victor Liong, of Lee Ho Fook, has quietly closed his fast-casual city eatery Silk Spoon. Vietnamese diner Rue de Thanh in Fitzroy also called time, Moorabbin’s neighbourhood wine bar Comma closed in September, and the Med-inspired Sowl in Carnegie shuttered in July as its owners focus on their new Greek venue Helios in Malvern.