Nicholas Peters: Ex-Melbourne hospitality kingpin to open venue at site of doomed Lucky Bat Cafe

A former Melburnian who helped found some of the Victorian capital’s hottest venues has provided tantalising details about his debut Darwin venue after relocating to the Top End last year.

Lucky Bat Cafe & Pizzeria at Nightcliff just its doors for good on Sunday, March 24. Picture: File

A former Melburnian who helped found some of the Victorian capital’s hottest venues has provided tantalising details about his debut Darwin venue after relocating to the Top End last year.

Nicholas Peters, who relocated to Darwin with his young family in February last year, confirmed he had taken over the tenancy formerly home to Lucky Bat Cafe & Pizzeria, which recently shut its doors for good.

“I’m super excited to take over Lucky Bat,” he said.

“It’s all happened really quickly and I’m still working through some ideas, but definitely firing up the pizza over four to five nights and having the cafe going seven days a week.”

Mr Peters said there may be a Mexican “influence” at his new venue.

In 2010, he co-founded Mamasita, and was the first person in Australia to become a certified mezcalier, the agave spirit that is tequila’s “divine cousin”.

Nicholas Peters has taken on the lease of the former Lucky Bat Cafe at Nightcliff and is looking to reopen the venue under a different name in mid-2024. Picture: Facebook/ Mamasita

Subsequent to Mamasita, he and business partner Matt Lane also went on to establish Collingwood’s Hotel Jesus.

“I’d say we’ll get some live music happening too,” Mr Peters said.

Mr Peters also revealed there would be a name change for Lucky Bat and that he was aiming for a May–June opening date.

The hospitality boss, who has been consulting to the industry since his relocation to the Top End, said he hoped his new venue would be busy enough that he “won’t have much time” for his consulting side hustle.

The interior of Hotel Jesus. Picture Andrew Tauber

Mr Peters said he would be based in Darwin “for the foreseeable future”.

“We’ve had family up this way for ages [and the] kids are loving it at school,” he said.

Lucky Bat, a staple of the Darwin cafe scene since 2016, frothed its last latte on Sunday.

Previous owner Caron Farrell – who purchased the business from founders Justin Schmidt and Danny Crichton in late 2022 after it ran into choppy financial waters – said the venue had become a money pit due to repeated break-ins.

She said she had been hit nine times in 15 months, with thousands of dollars flowing into the hands of thieves.