Overview
Beloved pub The Alexandria Hotel will reopen to the public after half a decade, with new owners Merivale to unveil a new dog and family-friendly outdoor dining space called Backyard at The Alex. The official opening date has yet to be announced, but the new outdoor area is set to feature food trucks, pop-up bars and live entertainment.
"What we're trying to do with the indoor space is kind of flip the traditional concept of you get your drink inside and you head outside to the beer garden," The Alexandria Hotel General Manager Sam George told Concrete Playground. "We want to make this the backyard of this community. A place where you go, have fun, relax, listen to some good music, have some good drinks, eat some good food."
Backyard at The Alex will be open for lunch and dinner Wednesday–Sunday and will share similarities to Merivale's fan-favourite beer garden at the Vic on the Park with long communal tables, grandstand seating, a basketball court and a large outdoor screen for sports. Local musicians and DJs will also be on hand to provide your spring and summer dose of live music.
Food trucks will provide a rotating roster of culinary eats, beginning with chicken schnitzel specialist Wholly Schnit and Firepop, a Yakitori-style bamboo skewer vendor. A pop-up kitchen and container bar will also serve favourites from Merivale's other pub menus and a classic array of tap beers, wine and cocktails.
Merivale Group Beverage Manager Keven Peters and Merivale General Manager Sam Egerton
When plans were unveiled in 2015 to bulldoze 150-year-old pub in order to turn it into an apartment complex, the community banded together to save the pub. The result of a public push to maintain the venue resulted in the purchase of The Alexandria by Merivale in 2016.
"Institutions like this must be preserved, they reflect our history and help shape our culture — especially when they mean as much to their local community as The Alex does," Merivale owner Justin Hemmes said back in 2016.
Following the acquisition, The Alex sat vacant for nearly half a decade. At the time, Merivale asked for input from the local community on how they'd like to see the pub take shape which George says they've taken inspiration from. "We definitely listened to what the community wanted and we are trying to respond to it as much as we can," he says.
George hinted that Merivale has bigger plans for The Alex in the future, but has confirmed that the new outdoor dining area will remain the focus as Sydney begins to open up.
The Alexandria is located at 35 Henderson Road, Alexandria. It will be reopening soon from 12pm–12am Wednesday–Saturday and 12am–10pm Sunday. We'll bring you more details as they become available.
Top image: Newtown Graffiti