Hamish Blake and Andy Lee open Old Mates Aussie pub in New York
New York’s only Aussie bar ran out of beer on its opening night in a matter of hours – as its very famous owners revealed the one thing patrons won’t find at the boozer.
The preview night of the only Australian bar in New York was so popular the venue had to close down after it ran out of booze.
On Friday, comedians and TV hosts Andy Lee and Hamish Blake mingled with punters at Old Mates Pub, a new bar located close to the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan’s downtown.
Award-winning actor Sarah Snook was also spotted having a bevvie at the cavernous three story venue.
Word had got out among New York’s reported 34,000 Australians with hundreds of people queuing for hours around the block to try and get into Old Mates where bottle of Cooper’s and tinnies of Sydney Beer Co Lager were rapidly being sunk.
“We had just shy of 3000 beers in stock and we ran out by 9.30pm and ended up closing the bar at 10pm,” part owner restaurateur Eddy Buckingham, who hails from Melbourne, told news.com.au. The doors had only opened at 4pm.
“We had people rolling up until 1am and I was sorry for those guys. But outside of that it was a dream first night.”
New York is awash with Australian coffee shops and brunch spots; avocado toast is almost as popular in Manhattan as it is in Melbourne.
But since the closure of The Australian pub during Covid, New York has been bereft of an Aussie watering hole.
What you won’t see at Old Mates
Talking to news.com.au, however, Andy Lee, who is also an investor in Old Mates, said they were clear on what they wanted from the venue – and what they didn’t want.
“We were very keen to make an Australian pub, not an Australian themed pub,” he said.
“So you won’t see a ‘kangaroo next 5km’ sign, you won’t see a surfboard with a shark bite taken out of it hanging on a wall.
“Instead we’ve taken elements of every one of our favourite pubs across Australia.”
The upstairs carpet is a replica of that found at the Long Room at the Melbourne Cricket Club, the white tiles on the ground floor are reminiscent of those at the iconic Builders Arms in Melbourne’s Fitzroy and the red laminate bar top is inspired by that found at the Heidelberg RSL.
For the eagle-eyed, Old Mates is full of other Easter eggs of Australiana – a treasure hunt of surprising southern hemisphere finds.
TVs dotted around the bar will, of course, play AFL, NRL and cricket matches live – and Old Mates has a 4am liquor license to ensure it can remain open to accommodate the time zone difference.
But on opening night some screens were also playing Neighbours and The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Framed Kylie album covers and Jimmy Barnes posters dot the walls, alongside a wild find you’d be unlikely to see at any regular American pub – full on nudity.
Here and there are various photos of streakers at sports matches – that great and beloved Aussie tradition of getting starkers on the field.
“There’s a lot of great nods to Australia around the pub,” said Hamish Blake who is also an investor in Old Mates, although he admitted to news.com.au he had a more limited share than Lee, just a “small sliver” of ownership.
“My favourite is this beautiful oil painting of ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ guy on the wall, which I love”.
That’s a reference to serial prison escapee Jack Karlson who was caught on a now iconic 1991 TV news clip being arrested where he asks if the charge is “eating a succulent Chinese meal”.
“As someone who owns a very small percentage of the bar, getting to walk in and take my own beer out of the fridge, gees, that’s the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Blake added.
“New York needed an Australian pub. There was nowhere to watckh the footy games or the Boxing Day Test or the Melbourne Cup.”
He said Old Mates felt like a pub from Fitzroy or Redfern transported to the US.
Carpet designed to get ruined
Notably parts of the venue is carpeted. A nightmare for cleaning but Lee was insistent it was all very deliberate.
“All good pubs have carpet. At the moment you could lie on (ours) but it's going to be sticky within a few days.”
Lee aside, the force behind Old Mates are two Australians: former AFL player and banker Nick Stone who started the Bluestone Lane Australian coffee shop chain which now has scores of stores in the US, and Mr Buckingham who runs a collection of contemporary bars, clubs and restaurants in New York.
Mr Buckingham used to work at Melbourne’s well known Riverland Bar perched on the Yarra near Flinders St Station.
“I started there as a glassy, then a bartender. And after my second time dropping out of university, I went to my bosses and I said ‘Look, I want to lean in on hospo,’ and those guys took a chance on me.
“So Riverland is very, very special to me”.
Mr Buckingham wouldn’t reveal the investment on the bar. But it’s clear there is some serious money behind it,.
For Old Mates to succeed, Mr Buckingham said, it’ll have to appeal to New York’s Australian ex-pats first and foremost, then visiting Aussies but also local American residents too.
“There’s a lot of Aussies in New York that are thirsty for this experience but we need to legitimatise ourselves to the broader community,” he said.
“We’ve got this great response now but it’s going to be the local community that dictates if it’s a success.
“That’ll take time. But we will have great food, a great cultural offering, great (beverages) great space – and that journey starts today.”
Certainly one American who wandered in off the street was overjoyed with Old Mates.
“When I walked in here I was the only American at the bar,” said a bemused Jordan Haber, who lives locally.
“I grew up around Aussies, they were always talking about Aussie rules football so having an Australian bar is really cool for me. I’ll invite my American mates down here”.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing getting Old Mates open, confided Lee. Apart from the cardinal sin of running out of beer there have been some other hiccups.
“To let you know how many things have gone pear-shaped, we originally thought we would open in October for the footy finals last year, so we’ve had our challenges,” he laughed.
Then there’s the quintessential Aussie beer taps that ice up – they’ve been delayed and weren’t installed on preview night.
But it’s early days and none of the punters seemed to notice, or care, as they drank the bar dry.
Old Mates opens permanently during March, which should be enough time to make sure the pub is full to the brim with cold beers for all.