Overview
UPDATE 20 May, 2021: Concrete Playground has received confirmation beloved Hunter Street restaurant Malay Chinese Takeaway will be impacted by the new Metro West train station. No further details are available at this time.
The iconic Sydney venue Frankie's Pizza is set to be acquired by the NSW Government to make way for the new Hunter Street train station. Last week, the NSW Government announced two new train stations as part of the new Metro West train line: Hunter Street and Pyrmont Station. In the announcement, NSW Minister for Transport Andrew Constance stated that 13 commercial buildings would be acquired as part of the construction, one of which is Frankie's Pizza.
In a statement from Frankie's, the Hunter Street venue confirmed that the building would be demolished to make way for the new Metro train line. While the future of Frankie's is uncertain, the bar has confirmed it will remain open until at least mid-2022 and is planning to make the most of its final year in their original digs. The beloved bar is promising bigger and better live music bills throughout the next year, as the local music community is expected to rally around the venue. It's also expanding its happy hour to offer $1 slices of its fan-favourite pizza from 4pm–6pm, Monday–Sunday.
Fortunately, its not all doom and gloom for Frankie's fans — the venue may be reborn in a new location. Minister Constance confirmed the beloved venue would be provided with support to find a new home. "Frankie's is an important part of Sydney's live music scene and we will make sure it is properly supported during this challenging time. Sydney Metro is assigning Frankie's a dedicated acquisition manager to guide them through this process and to help find another location," Minister Constance said.
With live entertainment every night of the week, visits from rock 'n' roll legends like Dave Grohl and Debbie Harry and one of Sydney's best pizza slices, the bar has had a huge impact on Sydney's live music scene. Across its tenure at Hunter Street, Frankie's has played host to musicians of all sizes — from local rock bands cutting their teeth, to international acts looking for an authentic Sydney venue to visit while touring the country.
Unfortunately, Frankie's may not be the only Sydney fan favourite affected by the new metro line. The fate of Malay Chinese Takeaway's Hunter Street location, which shares the building with Frankie's Pizza, is still unknown. Transport for NSW has confirmed that 312 George Street, the current address of Middle Eastern eatery Jimmy's Falafel, would also be acquired during the construction of the station. Jimmy's opened in July 2020 as Sydney's COVID-19 restrictions begun to ease around dining as part of Merivale's plans for a CBD Ivy precinct. Concrete Playground reached out to Merivale for comment, however, did not hear back at the time of writing.
Nikki To
The news of the acquisition comes just as Merivale announced a new George Street venue named Jimmy's Underground. Described as a late-night disco bar, Jimmy's Underground is set to open next month, with more details to come in the coming weeks.
Hunter Street Station will be located less than 500 metres from pre-existing CBD train stations at Wynyard and Martin Place. When asked why the existing stations couldn't be connected to the new Metro West line, instead of building Hunter Street Station, Minister Constance said: "There is so much infrastructure underground in Sydney, because of this government, we had to find a site which worked."
If you want to head down to Frankie's before it closes, you can catch the Frankie's World Famous House Band perform every Monday, participate in TNT Trivia on Tuesdays, or head along to any number of gigs or events throughout the week.
Hunter Street Station is set to be complete by 2030.
Top image: Katje Ford.