‘On life Support’: Barangaroo loses another dining favourite

Nola Smokehouse and Bar has shut down without warning to its customers, entering voluntary liquidation and joining a growing list of closures in the waterfront precinct.

Barangaroo’s once-vaunted dining mecca has lost yet another beloved foodie favourite, but this time the closure came without warning.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Nola Smokehouse and Bar has officially closed and entered voluntary administration, following a quiet shutdown of its social media platforms and no notice given to its loyal customers.

A business spokesman described the situation as “an incredibly tough time” and explained they chose to close down unannounced in order to “put things to bed.”

“It was a really sad scene … it wasn’t an easy decision,” said someone close to the business.

“We didn’t want to make a big fuss. Maybe we should have addressed it … and said after this many years, thank you so much but unfortunately we’re closing, but it was very much more of a ‘this f***king hurts – this is hard’.

“We just wanted to quietly fade away to the sunset.”

Nola joins a growing list of Barangaroo venues to shut post-Covid, including Tequila Daisy, Cirrus Dining and Bel & Brio.

The spokesman pointed to ongoing fallout from the pandemic and widespread work from home practices as major contributors to the precinct’s downturn.

“Barangaroo isn’t what it used to be,” the Nola spokesman said.

Nola Smokehouse and Bar has closed.

“We used to finish work at 5pm and there would be thousands of people down there, they would shut down the street with live music and have markets … it’s just a dead area now.”

“You have the casino open with a whole lot of offerings. The casino isn’t drawing the amount of people that they said it would, and there’s a lot of empty sites down there now … floors that are empty.

“It’s kind of been on life support since then.”

Nola Smokehouse and Bar in Barangaroo.

Despite the emotional toll, the business confirmed it has no unpaid debts and that all staff and suppliers were looked after.

“It’s tough when you decide to close something that you put nine years of life into and just kept believing in it. No suppliers were left in the lurch, no, like, everything was paid in full.”

A notice published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on June 23 confirmed the business had entered voluntary liquidation.

The filing followed more than a year of financial restructuring attempts dating back to August to September 2023.

An artist impression of how Barangaroo would look. Picture: Supplied

The team behind Nola say they explored every option to keep it afloat, introducing multiple offers and specials to encourage spending, but ultimately could not survive on dwindling weekday trade.

“We were really giving it a go, really trying to make it work, trying so many things,” a Nola spokesman added.

“But ultimately the corporate spend is down. Post Covid, it just didn’t come back.”

Nola is not alone, with hospitality businesses across the country under increasing pressure.

According to ASIC, the number of food service collapses jumped 50 per cent in the 2024 financial year to 1667, up from 1114 the previous year.

The 2025 figures are yet to be released.