The Richmond Yard Post-Apocalyptic Pop-Up Food Park

Nothing like a fried chicken burger at the end of the world.
Lauren Vadnjal
Published on November 30, 2015

Overview

By now, we thought we'd seen it all by way of food pop-ups. In the last year alone, Melbourne has hosted a pop-up whisky bar in a jail, a floating pop-up bar on the Yarra and a pop-up entirely dedicated to lobster rolls. But nope, there’s still something we haven’t seen before, and that's an immersive, post-apocalyptic themed food and drink pop-up.

The Richmond Yard will see a humble Cremorne carpark transformed each Saturday into a creative installation that explores a post-apocalyptic world — presumably one that ensues after Melbourne implodes from one too many food pop-ups. The zany idea comes from creative production team The Seven, who were behind epic Melbourne Music Week venues Where?House and Kubik.

The post-apocalyptic theme will be played out with multiple installations in The Garden, and a mock-trailer park in the Residential zone. Here they'll have eight trailers stationed for public use — you'll be able to book them out for two hours so you can sit back with some food, booze and your mates and avoid the hustle for seating space.

The outdoor dining area, The Commons, is where everyone else will be hanging out though. Each week, five food vendors will join the party; Easey's, Mamasita and Burn City Smokers have already been locked in, with more to be announced. The bar, which will operate out of a vintage Airstream-style trailer, will stock the likes of Handpicked Wines, Flying Brick cider, Quiet Deeds beer, and a selection of summer cocktails. Things kick off at 4pm and will kick on until midnight, with DJs playing throughout the night.

The Richmond Yard is also super sustainable (hurrah!), making use of renewable energy, food composting, an onsite vineyard display and no disposable food service wares. The pop-up is the first in a series of activations from the creative team, so expect to see more things like this in the future. A post-post-apocalyptic food installation, anyone?

The Richmond Yard launches this weekend, and will pop up every Saturday from 4pm - midnight until February 20, 2016. It is located in the carpark at 55-67 Cremorne Street, Cremorne. To be the first to check it out on opening night, you can book a free preview ticket here.

Image: Steve Walser, Flickr CC.

Tap and select Add to Home Screen to access Concrete Playground easily next time. x