Kings Cross Parsons Bar and Kitchen closes for good, but say lockouts not to blame
Another established venue has gone under in Kings Cross, taking the casualty figure close to 200 venues in five years, but the owners say the lockout laws were not to blame.
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Another established venue has gone under in Kings Cross, taking the casualty figure close to 200 venues in five years, but the owners say the lockout laws were not to blame.
Parsons Bar and Kitchen on Kellett Street served up its last drink on Saturday night after five years of business owned by brothers Joe and Nick van der Heide and partner Byron Oliver Dunn.
But despite opening at same time as the laws were introduced, Joe van der Heide said it was not the laws that crippled the Cross, but the fear around the changes.
“The message was ‘the government is killing the Cross, there’s nothing left in the cross’,” he said.
“All it did was scare people away.
“We were a restaurant, we didn’t have to have scanning machines or anything, it was just regular restaurant trade for us.”
After a tough five years, which Mr van der Heide attributed to the climate of fear around Kings Cross, being located in a backstreet and locals not leaving their homes, he said the prospect of signing another five year lease was too daunting.
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High profile closures in Potts Point have been highly publicised, with top tier, long established venues including Kylie Kwong’s restaurant Billy Kwong, Paper Bird and World Bar closing within a year.
Locals believe the area is being gentrified with younger crowds heading to the area and new venues such as Merivale’s Lotus returning and cult favourite Chaco Bar opening soon.
But Mr van der Heide said it would not matter unless people, in particular locals, explore and immerse themselves the Cross.
“Spend a bit more time walking through the backstreets and try things you haven’t tried before because it could be the difference,” he said.
“When you walk past the empty place and walk in, you might just not make their night but you might help them more than you think.”
In an honest post to Instagram they admitted they had felt battered and tired after five years, but it was worth it.
“Five years can seem fleeting after it’s been lived and it almost feels like an injustice to how much hard work, stress, money, time, commitment, preference, tears and love was poured into what became our heart and soul,” the post read.
“The first few years were tough, so very tough but we pushed through, working jobs on the side to make ends meet as we toiled through back-to-back double shifts.
“We persevered! We faced criticism and people telling us we couldn’t … but we did.
“We created something that so many people have loved.”