Overview
Since July 2024, The Zoo has been no more, with the beloved venue on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley closing its doors after more than three decades of hosting live tunes. If you're a heartbroken Brisbanite who still can't imagine the city's music scene without one of its most-famous places, that's understandable — its influence was that big — but soon the pivotal space will no longer be empty, or silent.
The team behind Crowbar Brisbane also know what it's like to have to close the doors on one of the city's favourite hangouts — and now they're saving the day at The Zoo. Four years after shutting up shop in the Harbour City due to the impact of the pandemic, Tyla Dombroski and Trad Nathan are bringing Crowbar back, taking over The Zoo's old digs.
"The Zoo has been an institution in Brisbane for over three decades. Crowbar intends to honour the amazing path laid before us and continue offering great events for years to come," said Nathan, announcing the news.
"As a former punter, band member, booker and promoter, playing The Zoo was a great achievement for aspiring bands — we're excited to be able to keep music within its walls."
"We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work with the landlords, the Apostolos family, in maintaining the property as a live music venue. Our focus is to continue providing a great space for artists and music lovers, while working with industry and government to ensure the survival of grassroots venues across Australia," added Dombroski.
There's no exact date yet for 711 Ann Street's reopening as Crowbar Brisbane, but the revival will continue the Crowbar brand in its birthplace. It was back in 2012 that the venue initially launched as a live music space, expanding to Sydney in 2018.
When it is up and running at its new location, Crowbar Brisbane 2.0 will include American-inspired, smashed burger-slinging eatery Ultimate Pig, where fried chicken, barbecue and more will also be on the menu — and a rebrand by Melbourne artist Callum Preston, who'll be doing the same for Crowbar Sydney.
To celebrate its launch week, the new Crowbar Brisbane will host a week of special events featuring well-known Australian names, too, with details still to be revealed.
The Zoo's 32-year run saw it host gigs by local favourites such as Resin Dogs and Screamfeeder, Aussie greats like Nick Cave and Silverchair, and international acts including The Pixies and The Black Keys — and plenty more in-between. The team behind the venue shut up shop due to "rising operational costs and decreasing returns".
"Sadly, the financial reality of keeping music venues afloat in 2024 is all too stark. The Zoo reached its highest ticket sales in its 32-year history last year, yet this was still not enough to combat rising operational costs and decreasing returns," The Zoo crew advised when they broke the news.
"As a music venue, we try our best to keep venue hire costs as low as possible for artists and promoters, which means that the financial risks are on the venue, and we depend on bar sales for profit. The cost of supplying alcohol is rising, and bar sales are going down, likely due to a mix of lifestyle changes and cost of living stress for our patrons."
"The hard truth is that we've been running at a loss for over three years. Despite exploring every avenue available to us, we could not secure the level of support needed to surmount the continued financial strain. We have no choice but to call last drinks for both of our beloved music venues."
Luke Henery
Find Crowbar Brisbane in The Zoo's old digs at 711 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley sometime in the near future. For further information in the interim, head to the venue's Facebook and Instagram pages.
The Zoo images: Cat Clarke / Luke Henery.