Melbourne bar Mrs Singh closed for good after two years of lockdown turmoil

Working from home mandates and ongoing Covid restrictions are behind the sudden closure of this much-loved city bar.

Another Melbourne bar has fallen victim to the Covid pandemic, closing for good after two rocky years of lockdowns and restrictions.

Restaurateur Jessi Singh was forced to close his wine bar of two years Mrs Singh on Flinders Ln last week.

“One of the hardest things I’ve had to do is shut down my own venue — especially during Covid,” Singh said.

Mrs Singh was located on Flinders Lane. Picture: Nicole Cleary.

“We’ve endured six lockdowns in that place. The CBD is dead and venues on Flinders Ln only work if office workers are back.”

“I have been waiting for the last two years for things to change and for people to return (to the city) but it seems there’s no real plan from local or state governments on getting people back,” he said.

Singh made the call to close after his wine bar after the business felt the brunt of Victoria’s latest outbreak, with many of his staff and customers catching Covid.

“Our cancellations went to 85 to 95 per cent. There were times when we were at 90 per cent every single day,” he said.

Daughter in Law owner Jessi Singh and his team Sacha Imrie, Chef Arjun Singh and Emily Ross. Picture: Nicki Connolly.

“All of us were working 18-20 hour days and when you’re standing around for 18 hours in an empty restaurant it takes a toll on your mental health.”

The restaurateur and chef said he closed Mrs Singh to concentrate on his other CBD venue, Indian restaurant Daughter in Law.

All Mrs Singh staff have been relocated to Daughter in Law, which he says is “just surviving.”

Singh opened more Daughter in Law locations in Adelaide and Byron Bay last year to give his staff reprieve during Melbourne’s six lockdowns.

“I had great staff who just didn’t want to live here anymore, so we moved a lot of our Melbourne staff to those places,” he said.

Mrs Singh joins a list of CBD restaurants forced to close because of Melbourne’s lockdowns.

Red Spice Road, Bar Saracen, Longrain, Madame Brussels, Ezard and Kinfolks are among the venues that have closed their doors in 24 months.

Longrain, Madame Brussels and Red Spice Road have come back from the brink, reopened by new operators.

Mrs Singh opened in February 2020. Picture: Peter Tarasiuk