New CBD late night bar
A CBD spin-off of the popular Lucky Bat bar in Nightcliff is hoping to serve booze and pizzas into the wee hours of the morning after its liquor licence was approved.
Owner Justin Schmidt wants the yet-to-be-opened Bustard Town, on Knuckey St in Darwin’s CBD, to be a restaurant bar serving wood-fired pizza, tapas and Argentinian grill.
Mr Schmidt told the NT News he was hoping to open the new venue by March 1.
The owner of the Nightcliff-based Lucky Bat also opened the Bat Bakery in the CBD in June. The bakery’s premises will also trade as a bar from next year.
An application to allow Bustard Town to serve alcohol between 11am and 2am daily was put before the NT Liquor Commission last month.
As a condition of the approval, the kitchen must stay open until 90 minutes before closing time.
If Bustard Town wants to remain open until 2am, that means the kitchen would have to open until 12.30am.
As part of the approval, the Liquor Commission said it was only approving the licence because the submission promised “late night dining, a service that is not currently available to Mitchell St precinct patrons”.
The commission said it was further convinced to approve the licence because of Mr Schmidt’s “impressive record of successfully establishing and operating attractive licensed venues in both suburban Darwin and inner-city Melbourne”.
“The commission is satisfied that issuing the licence and associated authorities is in the public interest,” it said.
No objections from nearby residents or businesses were received during the consultation process.
The venue will have a capacity of 250 patrons.
As part of the new premises, an outdoor kitchen, including a wood-fired oven, would be installed, as well as two shipping containers retrofitted into a coolroom and toilet facility.
When the Bat Bakery, opened in June, Mr Schmidt said it was the first of a threestage plan to turn the 1000sq m premises into a hospitality attraction.
“What we’ve got open now is only a first draft,” he said.
“We wanted to open and get some cash flow and keep tinkering.”
Mr Schmidt’s Nightcliff business, Lucky Bat, has become one of the most popular watering holes in Darwin’s suburbs.
“We propose to create an up-market venue targeting the professional and the urbane who are seeking a quality outdoor dining experience,” he said.
“We wish to bring Lucky Bat’s energy and ethos of good fresh food to the city.”