Overview
Odd Culture Group's beloved theatre pub The Old Fitz is a pint-sized gem of a classic Sydney boozer, but because of its petite proportions, its al fresco dining and drinking areas are essential to its daily operations. However, despite these outdoor spaces being so important to the venue's success — and during a period when hospitality businesses across the city are struggling to cope with soaring overheads and reduced patronage — the City of Sydney has slashed The Old Fitz's outdoor licence, meaning it can now only cater to outdoor customers until 8pm.
This will greatly reduce the maximum number of customers during The Old Fitz's dinner service. It also means the pub's pool room, where its outdoor furniture is usually stored overnight, will be inaccessible to punters from 8pm.
In an Instagram post, Odd Culture Group CEO James Thorpe explained the sudden and unexpected circumstances behind the reduction to The Old Fitz's licence.
"Our licence to operate in our beautiful al fresco dining area has been reduced to 8pm, despite our long-standing approval of nearly 20 years to operate until 10pm along Dowling Street. This was done without any consultation with us, in response to the complaint of a neighbouring premises. We only learnt of the existence of this complaint on Friday, and the venue has received no compliance correspondence from the council in over three years. We are saddened that the council have chosen not to work with us, or indeed even offer us procedural fairness, instead choosing to silently wind back our hours," the statement reads.
Thorpe went on to reveal that in his attempts to resolve the matter, council officials indicated that the licence reduction may have been pushed through in error.
"I have had several conversations with people at the council since Friday, many of whom have indicated that this decision was made in error. However, as it has managed to slip through to a determination, our only recourse is to put in an application and wait. Our last renewal took just over five weeks from submission to approval," he explained.
In an attempt to put pressure on the City of Sydney to swiftly resolve the dispute, The Old Fitz has created a petition, so the venue's many loyal customers can amplify calls to have the outdoor dining licence restored. At the time of publication of this article, more than 830 signatures had been added.
One prominent figure also adding their voice to this cause is Sydney Mayor Clover Moore, who took to her official Instagram account to call for a speedy resolution.
"When this outcome came to my attention I asked staff to expedite a review and work productively with the Old Fitz to resolve the matter. I'm advised there were some compliance issues, hence the Council officers' initial recommendation. But I'm sure it's not beyond us all to work this out," Moore's statement reads.
It goes on: "In the wake of the Covid pandemic, we wanted to do everything we could to help businesses get back on their feet while bringing communities together and that's why we waived all fees and fast-tracked road conversion applications, helping more than 700 businesses operate out in our public spaces. The Old Fitz is one location where we have even extended the footpath into the road space to make for a larger and more pleasant space."
Dozens of hospitality businesses across Greater Sydney — including Bentley Group's multiaward-winning fine diner Cirrus, iconic Paddington pub The Unicorn Hotel and Maybe Sammy Group's CBD cafe Sammy Junior — have been forced to close in recent months. Climbing produce costs, a reduction in customers due to cost-living pressures and increases to certain overheads such as insurance premiums have been cited as the primary drivers behind the unusually high rash of closures.