5 Beekman: New York style bar opening in Illawarra Steelers Club

A New York-style high-end cocktail bar with an unexpected location and luxurious design is set to transport people ‘into a different world’.

A new cocktail bar modelled off the New York underground is coming to a popular sports club and is set to transport customers to a “different world”.

5 Beekman, located inside the Steelers Club, is set to open next week, delivering a high-end bar experience, with emerald green velvet seating, brass and copper light fixtures, and a stone bar.

The inside of 5 Beekman, the New York style bar inside the Steelers Club.

“We want people to walk in here and experience something they’ve never seen from us before,” general manager Sharon Arrow said.

“We’ve designed this based on small underground bars in New York, it’s like walking into a totally different world.”

The cocktail bar, named after an art deco building in Manhattan, will focus on high quality cocktails, while also offering a curated selection of wines and a specialised bar menu.

“The cocktails have all got their own glasses, garnishes, and a point of difference, a lot of development days have gone in to make sure they taste awesome and are presenting really well,” Ms Arrow said.

Sneak peek: a first look at 5 Beekman, a new bar inside the Steelers Club in Wollongong.

“People buy with the eye and we want them to look amazing before the lips touch the glass, but we are also relying on each of the five senses with the cocktails, from taste to touch and the aroma.”

While the bar is located inside the Steelers Club, Ms Arrow said she wanted it to have its own identity, away from the rugby league culture of the club.

“This is not what you’d expect in a club space,” she said.

“We want our loyal patrons to enjoy it but we also want to see some new people coming in.”

The bar will have a soft opening next week.