Burbank to close bar amid ‘challenging times’

Hayden Burbank’s popular Prahran bar is poised to close, with the Grand Final border breacher citing “a need to change”.

Hayden Burbank will shut Morris Jones as part of a refresh. Picture: Mark Stewart

A popular Melbourne bar owned by Grand Final border breacher Hayden Burbank will close to make way for a dramatic transformation.

Morris Jones, opened by the Melbourne socialite in 2012, will undergo a facelift, with Burbank describing the new look he is designing as a subtropical oasis.

Its trademark flower wall and floral chandeliers are being dumped in favour of bespoke murals, ferns and palms and green dominating the interiors.

“I am inspired by the constant need to change and stay at the forefront of Melbourne’s dynamic hospitality industry,” Burbank said.

Hayden Burbank was jailed in West Australia for breaching Covid laws to attend the 2021 Grand Final in Perth.

“Melburnians have an insatiable desire to experience things through new lenses and I have a voracious creative desire myself to reinvent and to keep things fresh and interesting for my customers.”

Burbank is also shaking up the menu with new head chef Yang Zhao offering a Californian Japanese cuisine.

“It’s been a challenging few years for the whole of the Melbourne’s hospitality industry and we are very excited to be offering our clientele a completely new experience, both the look of the venue but also the food offering,” he said.

Burbank was jailed in West Australia in 2021 after breaching Covid laws by sneaking into the state while it was in lockdown to watch his beloved Demons win the premiership.

He spent three months in the maximum security Hakea Prison in Perth.

Morris Jones will re-open on April 14 with a facelift cocktail party and a touch of green theme.

It is still a venue frequented by footballers with Melbourne star Christian Petracca dining there late last month to celebrate his brother’s birthday.