In some parts of Sydney, 10pm on a suburban shopping strip would be a ghost town. But on Lakemba’s Haldon Street, Rasha Almaanawe has to turn away customers so she can go home.
“We shut about 10pm, but we get busier as we are about to close. Most of the shops along here stay open until midnight. It’s always busy,” said Rasha Almaanawe, owner of King of Sweets, where the baklava is the biggest seller, followed by znoud el sit – literally “ladies upper arms”.
While the bustling south-west Sydney street is best known for its Ramadan Markets, which now bring more than a million people to the suburb each year, Almaanawe increasingly has visitors from out of area all year round.
Rasha Almaanawe, owner of King of Sweets at her shop on Haldon Street, Lakemba.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
“I think people like the night shopping. It’s safe here. People like walking around,” she said.
Past the train station, restaurants serving Lebanese, Bangladeshi, Bengali and Yemeni cuisine are open until the early hours, even on a weeknight.
“To be honest you can go out as late as you want around here. The places up the road, they don’t close until three in the morning, and that’s seven days a week,” said Rasha’s brother, who occasionally helps in his sister’s shop.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, it’s Lakemba, there’s no alcohol.’ But if you want that there’s the pub and the RSL. There’s just other stuff, too.”
Lakemba’s Haldon Street will be the third ‘purple flag’ 24-hour district in Sydney.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
That other stuff is part of why the multicultural precinct is the third destination in Sydney to join the state government’s Purple Flag nightlife accreditation program.
The Purple Flag system, used by more than 90 cities internationally, allows members of the public to identify areas with a deliberate and well-managed nightlife, complete with late-open kitchens, safe streets and good public transport.
It assesses destinations against a set of criteria, including transport access, security, adequate street lighting and diversity of offerings.
While the previous two recipients – the YCK laneways between Town Hall and Wynyard in the city’s centre and Parramatta CBD – provide late-night watering holes, the offerings once the sun sets in Lakemba are not centred around drinking alcohol: fashion stores, street food, dine-in restaurants and dessert cafés remain open late.
“A 24-hour experience that represents Sydney’s diverse identities can only enhance its global reputation,” said the state’s 24-hour economy commissioner, Michael Rodrigues.
Earlier this year, Business Sydney called for more investment in diverse cultural events, lamenting the city’s nightlife was monoculture with few options that do not involve alcohol.
Member for Bankstown, Jihad Dib said the accreditation would recognise Lakemba as the welcoming, hospitable place locals and visitors had always known it to be.
Canterbury-Bankstown Deputy Mayor Rachelle Harika said the multicultural district was a unique place in Sydney, and was optimistic the accreditation would boost businesses but also reinforce that the area was a safe and family-friendly place to spend an evening.
The Ramadan markets in Lakemba already brings more than a million visitors to the suburb every year. Credit: Wolter Peeters
“It’s about promoting a precinct that is safe, accessible by all means of transport and has great food,” she said.
The accreditation comes despite Lakemba train station being scheduled to shut for up to 12 months as part of the Sydney Metro project, starting next year.
A Sydney Metro spokesperson said it was developing comprehensive temporary transport plans, including frequent bus routes including express services. They said it was also exploring whether trains between Bankstown and Lidcombe could be used for travel to the CBD.
“When Sydney Metro upgrades at Lakemba station are complete, it will complement the new precinct by providing the community with a fully accessible railway station, with level access between platforms and platform screen doors to keep people and objects away from the tracks,” they said.
Marrickville, in the city’s inner west, will become the fourth Sydney location to join the pilot phase of the Purple Flag program later this year.
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