The Historic Hub Theatre Is Set to Turn Into a Hybrid Arts and Craft Beer Venue

A historic Newtown theatre off King Street and Enmore Road is set to be transformed into a multilevel craft brew bar and entertainment venue. Sydney hospitality mainstay Michael Vale (Cafe Del Mar) has proposed a new redevelopment of the property which has laid relatively vacant for the past two decades.

Vale's plan consists of a 650-person capacity bar called the Urban House of Brews, accommodating five Australian breweries and a performance area that will hark back to the Hub's history as a theatre.

Under Vale's vision for the building, five Australian breweries would make the Urban House of Brews their inner west home, each complete with ten beer taps. The five breweries currently on board are: Murray's, Urban Alley, Spinifex, Moo Brew and Catchment. Each brewery represents a different Australian state, and each has been hand-selected by Vale. Alongside craft beer, the venue will host live entertainment with plans in place for music, stand-up comedy, drag, open mic nights and cultural events.

Urban Alley Brewery

One element of the entertainment offering that Vale believes will be unique to the venue is a roster of digital entertainment, shown or streamed on a theatre screen. This will include musical tributes to artists like Bob Marley and Marvin Gaye, as well as live-streamed sets from New York City clubs and comedy houses.

Completing the ambitious plans for the Newtown building are a distillery and cocktail bar that will live on an extended Mezzanine Level, and an 84-seat al fresco dining area. According to the floor plan provided by Vale, the outdoor dining area will occupy a large chunk of the open space between The Hub and King Street, often used for the popular Newtown markets.

The Hub, which currently sits beside Beach Burrito Newtown, was originally the site of the Newtown Hippodrome in the early 1900s before the Clay's Bridge Theatre was built in 1913. The building had several different residents throughout the next 50 years including a non-English Language film theatre, the home to the Sydney Film Festival and 'Marcus Clarke's Cash Store', which coined the name The Hub of Newtown.

Vale says the venue is expected to open in July 2022, with both the Inner West City Council and building owner, Chris Vlattas, supportive of the venture.

The Hub is located at 7–13 Bedford Street, Newtown.

Top Image: Photographer Graeme Nichols, Courtesy City of Sydney Archives