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Berlin Wall inspires new 350-seat mega venue coming to Sydney CBD

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

'The venue is inspired by the era when the Berlin Wall came down.'
'The venue is inspired by the era when the Berlin Wall came down.'Shutterstock

A new hospitality precinct is taking shape on the western side of the "Berlin Wall" of light rail work at the Wynyard end of the Sydney CBD.

A posse of moneyed hospitality players including Rebel Sport co-founder Ian Dresner – who is backing the upcoming 300-seat restaurant Firegrill restaurant – is set to be joined by Paul Schulte, who has nabbed the site next door to New York newcomer Employees Only.

Schulte, who was at Keystone during the glory day launches of The Winery and Gazebo, has been quiet on the local front in recent years but has opened a venue in San Francisco.

Rebel Sports's Ian Dresner is one of the players behind a new hospitality precinct at the Wynyard end of the Sydney CBD.
Rebel Sports's Ian Dresner is one of the players behind a new hospitality precinct at the Wynyard end of the Sydney CBD.Supplied
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"I want to create something really different," he tells Good Food. "Even the design is quite out there."

And different it will be. When the yet-to-be-named 350-seat venue opens in March in the former city home of Lot 1 restaurant (it's now in Potts Point), the multi-level venue will house a restaurant, a bar, a hidden disco room and a live performance stage.

"The venue is inspired by the era when the Berlin Wall came down … the live act might be a jazz singer, a poetry reading or someone in lingerie dancing," Schulte explains.

He's already signed chef Sam Bull (Icebergs) and Andrew Emerson (Bar Brose, Acme) to drive the beverages, while businessman Francis Sarks is a co-owner in the start-up.

The rash of new ventures in an under-appreciated part of the Sydney CBD includes Applejack's recently opened Bopp & Tone and the Michael McCann-designed Seta, which opens on Barrack Street in 2019.

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Scott BollesScott Bolles writes the weekly Short Black column in Good Food.

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