File this one under Can We Finally Do Something About The Cost Of Booze?
Yesterday I joined a panel talking about bartending comps, storytelling and bar careers. It’s part of a two day experience in Daylesford, Victoria, where later today I’ll be judging the Australian final of the Diplomático Artisans of Taste competition.
On the panel I was asked about career pathways for bartenders who want to move out from behind the stick. And while there are more job prospects that are bar adjacent than there have ever been, I did end up saying that I’d love to see more bartenders opening bars of their own. It’s what gives a bar scene character and personality, I think, and what makes a scene interesting.
But it’s not easy, and there are no guarantees of success. As fellow panelist, Alex Boon, suggested yesterday, you have to really love it to want to do it, and there are much easier ways to make money.
No matter the city I’ve been in so far this year, times have been tough. January and February seem to have been hard in Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok, Singapore — everywhere.
Brisbane, too. And those lean summer months have led the folks behind Barry Parade Public House to announce their closing. The bar, which opened nearly 18 months ago in October of 2024, will be calling last drinks this Sunday.
Opened by two bartenders — former bartender of the year Daniel Gregory and veteran Brisbane bartender Brennen Eaton — Barry Parade proved popular among hospo types, played host to some big nights at last year’s Bartenders’ Weekender, and landed at number eight on the Boothby Best Bars Queensland Top 30 last year. It’s a real shame to see it go so quickly.
Below, Brennen talks about the decision to close, what comes next for him and Dan, and what might happen in the space next.
BOOTHBY: What’s the thinking behind the closure?
BRENNEN EATON: It was not an easy call to make, as we had put a great deal of effort and commitment into the business but in the end, the stress of making ends meet and balancing family life was too much. The cost of running a hospitality business isn’t easy, with rent, taxes, licences and general cost of goods increasing it creates a lot of stress on you.