In another devastating blow to Canberra's hospitality industry, Zoo Bar - formerly The Uni Pub - has closed its doors and let staff go.
Zoo Bar owner Rulla Bakri confirmed the five-storey pub in Civic closed on Wednesday and staff were told they no longer had jobs.
More than 20 casual or full-time staff are now looking for work.
It comes as restaurant and function centre Pialligo Estate also this week confirmed its permanent closure, the venue repossessed, with more than 100 staff put out of a job, although managers have said about 30 staff have since found new work.
Ms Bakri said she tried hard to save Zoo Bar, saying it was like "a Melbourne bar brought to Canberra".
"It's so sad," she said.
"That corner bar is so beautiful. I'm devastated."
Ms Bakri blamed the ongoing impact of COVID for the closure of the bar.
"The corner has never come out of COVID. We've struggled to keep it alive," she said.
Ms Bakri took over the pub about six years ago, first rebranding it as Balthazaar and then as Zoo Bar.
Zoo Bar encompassed different venues on different floors including the Hustler bar on level two, No Vacancy function space on level three and the Mile High Club on level four.
Ms Bakri said the lockdowns had had a big impact on the business and the first and fourth floors had never re-opened after COVID.
When Zoo Bar did emerge from the lockdowns in 2021, it found a very different trading environment.
Whether its was more people working from home and affecting the lunch trade or, more recently, interest rate hikes which forced people to rein in spending, the bar couldn't survive, Ms Bakri said.
"The customers just aren't there anymore," she said.
Ms Bakri said other city restaurants were also feeling the pinch, coping in part, by no longer offering a lunch service.
Located on the corner of London Circuit and University Avenue, the five-storey venue had previously billed itself as the "tallest pub in the Southern Hemisphere".
Ms Bakri said the proximity of students at the Australian National University still hadn't helped.
The Zoo Bar was a tenant in the building. She said an administrator had been appointed, but declined to name them.
Tonna Nassar, who worked in admin for the Zoo Bar since 2019, said none of the staff saw the closure coming.
"We just turned up for work and we were told there would be a staff meeting," she said.
The staff had been told they had been "stood down until further notice".
"We're just absolutely shocked. Very sad. Deflated. The unknown of it, more than anything, [is concerning staff]."
Ms Nassar said the bar management was being "very good" in trying to get the staff work elsewhere.
Bar owner Ms Bakri said in terms of full-time staff, "where I can help them, I will".
