Coffee spot-cum-aperitivo bar Sammy Junior, the sister venue to the multi-award-winning cocktail lounge Maybe Sammy, is the latest casualty of Sydney's hospitality closures crisis. 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. No official statement has been issued as yet, however. Concrete Playground has reached out to Sammy Junior's management for comment. 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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Annie Ren (@annie_aroundplaces) 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. Maybe Group's parent company Public Hospitality Group was forced to secure a $400-million refinancing deal via a consortium led by Deutsche Bank in May, according to recent reporting in The Australian Financial Review. Despite this injection of capital, the debt-stricken hospitality group will still need to dissolve several businesses in its portfolio to remain solvent according to the AFR, with another report from The Australian suggesting that as many as eight venues currently managed by Public Hospitality Group could close in the coming months. Sammy Junior closed at 66 King Street, Sydney, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. The premises is now operated by Salumerie. Images: DS OFICINA.