After 13 years, a cherished West End bar announces closure

Iconic independent West End bar Bosc has announced it will permanently close next month. Its last night of service will be June 20.

Owner Emily Tankey announced the closure on social media earlier this month

“Bosc has been the best continuous house party I’ve ever thrown,” Tankey wrote. “I’ve made lifelong friends, taught your kids how to pour their first beer, and honestly I have had the time of my life.

“But all good things must come to an end. And if I’m being honest, I’m pretty excited about what’s next.”

Tankey was in a philosophical mood on Friday when talking to this masthead about the closure. She said she made the decision to close the bar after being unable to agree on terms for a new lease.

“The landlord increased the rent to a price that I’m just not happy to pay,” she said. “That was probably the little push I needed to make the decision.

“There’s never going to be an easy time to close something that means so much to me, and the community we created there has been so wholesome. And I know they’ll continue hanging out outside of Bosc.

“Some of my best friends have come from Bosc. My partner has come from Bosc. All of my favourite people in life have come out of the place. Some friendships that have lasted 13 years since we’ve opened; I’ve been to weddings. Just some really beautiful, beautiful moments.”

Bosc opened in 2013 and quickly gained a reputation for being a locally minded craft beer and gin hangout. It was also early to adopt an all-Australian line-up of first pour spirits (besides rum) and came to form a neat two-hander with The End, a few doors down towards Boundary Street (and a three-hander after Flying Colours opened on the other side).

“Some of my best friends have come from Bosc. My partner has come from Bosc.”

Emily Tankey

Looking ahead, Tankey is relocating to Melbourne, where she already spends much of her time, and focusing on her craft beer brand, Better Together, while also finishing a masters in accounting.

Meanwhile, the bar isn’t going out quietly. Even before Tankey announced the closure, it was doing some of the strongest figures of its 13-year history.

“I am proud of what we achieved. I’m pretty chuffed,” she said. “I think if everything else in my life wasn’t going so well, then it would be a hard decision. But I’ve got a really nice life.”