Islington Village bar Closed is opening its doors to the public on Friday.
The two-storey bar is part of the first stage of the $8 million development that also includes an artisan bakery, a gelato store, restaurants and shop-top apartments.
The three-storey Islington Village development stretches across four blocks on Beaumont Street and is the brainchild of developer Lindsay Parker.
Closed features a casual downstairs bar and an upper floor cocktail area with a large open-air terrace. The aesthetic is, hospitality consultant Doug Laming says, "romantic punk" where plush velvets contrast with industrial elements.
Sydney-based Laming was born and raised in Newcastle and started his hospitality career at the Sydney Junction Hotel in Hamilton, just down the road from Closed. He bought his first bar at the age of 24, Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining, and once owned The Big Easy on Sydney's Stanley Street.
He is an accomplished "molecular mixologist" known for his sophisticated cocktails and has helped to open several venues in recent years, including Closed.
"We brought in a brand agency to flesh out the details, to get some core pillars and some brand DNA, and name it, and everything else has flowed on from that," he told the Newcastle Herald.
"The name Closed, I hated it when it was first proposed, but then I was talking to a group of friends about it for a week and thought 'Wait, that's probably a good sign. Maybe it's not stupid after all'.
"There's a whole poetic note to the name as well, 'In the shadows of the night where closed doors open', and then there's the idea of a secret society within a society."
A familiar face is in charge of the menu at Closed: Alannah Miceli, formerly of subo on Newcastle's Hunter Street. She was tasked with curating a menu that, in keeping with the romantic punk vibe, was "raw, rotten and loud".
"Raw means minimal intervention where we can ... so the wine list is organic, biodynamic and has minimal intervention wines and some natural pet nats," Laming explained.
"The food is root to leaf and nose to tail as much as we can, and it's mostly a pescatarian menu with just a few meat elements.
"Rotten refers to our fermenting and preservation techniques. So, if we're using something and we have a waste by-product, we use that in something else."
He cites as an example pressing cucumbers for juice, taking the pulp and "vac-sealing" it with water to make cucumber water for one of Closed's martinis.
As for "loud", it's all about plating dishes a certain way, and presentation and flavours that are unique.
"It might be a monochrome dish or splatter plating or bright vibrant colours used here and there, or flavour combinations you might not normally expect," Laming said.
Closed was granted a small bar liquor licence in February that stipulated the venue and its rear terrace close at 10pm, and the upstairs balcony at 6pm. Laming says the restrictions forced his team to "put more focus on the food, for it to be a dining destination" rather than just serve drinks.
"We've got overhead heaters on the balcony, and out the front; every little thing has been curated so that wherever you are in the venue, you are comfortable," he said.
"Everyone is welcome to check it out on Friday from 4pm, wearing whatever they are comfortable wearing.
"Closed looks like an upmarket venue, and it will have upmarket food and drinks, but we've tried to make it as accessible as possible for everyone."
