Sammy Junior Is the Latest Venue to Close in Sydney as the City's Hospitality Crisis Continues to Deepen
A string of hospitality closures in recent months has claimed major Sydney stalwarts, recent openings and celeb-backed ventures alike.
UPDATE, Tuesday, June 25, 2024: Maybe Group has confirmed to Concrete Playground that the decision to close Sammy Junior was unrelated to the recent refinancing of its parent company Public Hospitality Group. Our article has been updated to reflect this. A statement provided to Concrete Playground reads:
"The team behind The Maybe Group have chosen to close their cafe Sammy Junior in Sydney's CBD to concentrate on other venues within the group. The lease has been taken over by Potts Point sandwich shop Salumerie, who tested the Sammy Junior space throughout May with a pop-up sandwich offering. Salumerie is already trading in the space, the new King Street location being their second site.
Vince Lombardo said, 'Sammy Junior was a fun venture, and we're really proud it led to a surge in venues that offer just as good coffee as cocktails, but we've decided to concentrate our attentions elsewhere. We're big fans of what Salumerie do and wish them the best of luck'."
Coffee spot-cum-aperitivo bar Sammy Junior, the sister venue to the multi-award-winning cocktail lounge Maybe Sammy, is the latest Sydney venue to close its doors for good. The bar's Instagram account has been quietly deleted, its website deactivated and its booking links via the Maybe Group website disabled, with insiders familiar with the matter confirming to Concrete Playground that the venue had been closed with immediate effect during the week ending Friday, June 21.
The premises is already back in operation, after being taken over by Potts Point Italian sandwich joint Salumerie, which staged a pop-up at Sammy Junior in May.
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The loss of Sammy Junior is the latest in a string of closures in Sydney which has impacted hospitality businesses of every sort, including stalwarts like Tetsuya's in the CBD and Cornersmith in Annandale, and award-winning newcomers like Raja in Potts Point. Even venues backed by star talents such as seafood savant Josh Niland's Charcoal Fish in Rose Bay, hospo veteran Barry McDonald's Bar Grazie in Potts Point and Kylie Kwong's Lucky Kwong in Eveleigh, have not been immune to the economic downturns driving the unusually high number of closures across the city.
Other businesses that have closed in recent months include Marrickville's Donut Papi, CBD Vietnamese diner Hey Chu, Surry Hills wine bar Bartolo, The Sunshine Inn in Redfern, CBD omakase Tempura Kuon and Lima Bar in Bondi. Darlinghurst Theatre Company also announced on Tuesday, June 18, that it was entering voluntary administration, revealing similar financial vulnerabilities within Sydney's entertainment sector.
Sammy Junior closed at 66 King Street, Sydney, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. The premises is now operated by Salumerie.
Images: DS OFICINA.
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