Bar M owner takes aim at City of Sydney over trading hours refusal
The owner of a glitzy Rushcutters Bay restaurant has blasted the City of Sydney after it told her the venue must shut early — because the council suspects it has been operating outside its approval.
The owner of inner-city hotspot Bar M has claimed a council decision to refuse an application to renew the venue’s trading hours to midnight was a “death sentence” for the business — and warned other favourites could be next.
Paola Toppi, who has run the Rushcutters Bay bar-restaurant since 2015, claimed City of Sydney Council had informed her it suspected the venue was operating as a “function centre”, ruling it must close at 10pm.
But a council spokesman said this was simply a case of Bar M “operating outside its development consent”, and the business had attracted “numerous noise complaints” from nearby residents to both police and council.
A furious Ms Toppi said her restaurant hosted “one function per month” or about five per cent of its monthly trade, and asserted the decision was yet another example of excessive regulations that had “crippled” Sydney’s night-life.
“Every single restaurant in Sydney does block bookings for a special occasion, a birthday or a wedding,” she said.
“If they try to say every restaurant that does a block booking is a function centre where are we going?”
However, on Bar M’s social media pages there are several pictures shared of weddings and events held at the venue.
A post on is official Instagram page dated January 21 proclaimed it had been “overwhelmed with function inquiries”, saying was 2019 was “ the year of weddings and parties”.
It also has a “functions” page on its website, which encourages customers to make bookings for a “wedding, corporate event, engagement, birthday, lunch or christening”.
The council spokesman revealed NSW Police made a submission opposing the request to extend trading hours.
Bar M, previously known as Bar Machiavelli, had been operating under a trial extended trading licence that required it be used only as a restaurant and be well managed.
Ms Toppi said finishing trade two hours earlier would cut income by half — a “death sentence” for the glamorous Neild Ave haunt frequented by Sydney celebrities and socialites.
She said this was the first time her restaurant had been denied the extended trading hours since she took over, and believed the application process would be merely “routine”.
“Being a world-class restaurant, one of the finest looking restaurants in Sydney that holds more than 200 people, you can’t close at 10pm,” she said.
“It’s a death sentence, you can’t survive or pay rent, it’s impossible.
“I have a lot of international clients are they think (Sydney) is a joke. The whole of Sydney is crippled, it’s dying.”
Ms Toppi said she would take her case to the Land and Environment Court and seek an injunction to prevent Bar M’s hours being cut until the situation was rectified.
A City of Sydney spokesman said Bar M must now revert to its approved operating hours of 7am to 10pm.
“Bar M is located in a residential area and not within a current or proposed late night trading area,” he said.
“The venue has only ever been approved to operate as a restaurant, which permits seated dining and ambient music.
“Staff explained the process available to the venue to have the City’s decision reviewed.”
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