Melbourne bar legends on their way to take over Canberra

Takeovers are becoming increasingly trendy in the world of restaurants and bars. Simply put, the staff from one venue will come in and run their own menu, specials, drinks and change up the vibe of another venue for a limited time (often one night or one weekend only)

Squeaky Clean owner Jonno Murphy has invited folks from Melbourne’s Chronicles Bar and Bar For Now to come to Canberra and set up shop at Squeakys next Monday, 11 May.

For Jonno, there are plenty of benefits to running a takeover. First and foremost, these are his mates! Jonno came up in the Melbourne bar scene and has been friends with the owners and operators of Chronicles Bar in St Kilda and Bar For Now in Balaclava for over 10 years.

“I missed my mates! So I wanted an excuse to get them up here to have a party, and we came up with a takeover,” he told Region.

Dan Gillespie is involved with both Chronicles and Bar For Now, and is keen to bring the party vibes to Canberra.

“There’s definitely been more chat about Canberra’s hospo scene in the last four or five years as more great venues are opening up,” he said.

“And Jonno hasn’t been able to see his mates – opening a new business is a real grind – so we figured we’d come up and see him, and find a way to turn it into a work trip!”

The party vibes will include DJ sets, signature cocktails, and food from Chef Kathryn Kelso. She’ll be cooking up jalapeño poppers and chopped cheese, a New York bodega classic of beef mince ‘chopped’ with cheese on the grill in a hotdog bun.

Dan will bring his Daydreaming cocktail – a mix of rye whisky, spiced pineapple, dry sake from Kyoto and a little bit of yuzu. It’s carbonated and served with some pickled pineapple, and he describes it as “light, fun and fruity”.

Squeaky Clean isn’t the only bar jumping on the takeover train.

Bar Rochford recently travelled the other way down the Hume to take over the iconic Gerald’s Bar in Carlton North. City West sandwich shop Sandoochi hosts occasional takeovers, most recently inviting the Ratanakosol brothers from Minima collab on a ‘dooch’ and occasionally coaxing interstate chefs to join in too. These once-off affairs are a great way to coax reluctant diners off the couch to experience a limited edition occasion.

And, as Jonno told Region, takeovers are also a really important way to showcase talent and offer new experiences for staff.

“For me, coming to Canberra and having an influence on the hospitality scene here has really filled my cup. But a lot of people still don’t see it as a career they can have in Canberra,

“The biggest benefit is the opportunity to show the kids and other people coming up in hospo that you don’t have to move to Melbourne, you can put your life and your heart into this job, and this is how we do it!”

He wants to use takeovers like this as an opportunity to build a strong hospo community within Canberra, which is part of the reason this takeover is happening on a Monday evening. Mondays are traditionally a day off for hospitality staff, so it will be accessible to lots of industry folks. But it’s open to anyone who fancies a drink: Jonno is expecting plenty of his regulars to be propping up their spots at the bar!

“We’re setting up some decks and playing all the classic 2000s pop bangers and then heading into some disco and house later in the night when the lights come down real hard. We’re going until 2 am, no matter what. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s like a fake Saturday on a Monday.”

We won’t tell the boss if you need to pull a sickie on Tuesday …

Squeaky Clean is located at Level 1, 45 Verity Lane, Canberra City. They are open seven days a week from 4 pm to 2 am (from 12 pm on Friday).

The Chronicles Bar and Bar For Now takeover is on Monday, 11 May, from 4 pm to 2 am. No bookings required.

Follow Squeaky Clean, Chronicles Bar and Bar For Now on Instagram.

Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.

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