Spicetown Leichhardt could prove a hospitality game-changer for one of Sydney’s storied eat streets. The colourful, sprawling new venue on Norton Street certainly isn’t afraid to break the mould with a left-field business approach.

In the past week, 18 market stands have taken up residence in the long-dormant Leichhardt Hotel. Spicetown Leichhardt might be in the heart of Little Italy, but this hawker-style food in an old pub skips the strip’s most popular cuisine for a sweeping international approach.

The start-up has some form with this style of venue – it’s operated by the team behind Burwood Chinatown and Spicetown Sefton. They’ve taken the Asian hawker stall model, and in Leichhardt given it even more international flavour.

“There’s Turkish street food, Chinese pancakes, dumplings,” says Gina Liros, executive manager at owner Blairgrove Group. “We just love the idea of the multicultural experience where one member of the family can be eating something completely different from the other.”

As to why Blairgrove has chosen Leichhardt for its next step, Liros says the group owns the property. The Leichhardt Hotel had been an eyesore on the strip since its closure in 2014. There were false starts for redevelopment, and Liros concedes “it wasn’t really providing anything for the community”.

Blairgrove has brought in independent vendors to cook street food such as traditional Afghani dishes and fried squid. Grilled prawns, “cheeto” hot dogs and “focaccia ayam geprek” will also be part of the opening food volley.

Liros says it’s also about the experience beyond food. “It needs to be vibrant, fun … Instagrammable. We’ve got some lion dancers coming in [on the weekend].”

How it will be received by Leichhardt traditionalists remains to be seen. There is already plenty of pasta and ciabatta on the strip but Liros says, “We’d love to get some Italian [food] in.”

For Leichhardt Hotel faithful who miss the pub, there’s still something on offer. “We’ve got Cosmos Bar upstairs,” Liros says.

Open Thu-Sun 4pm-10pm

95 Norton Street, Leichhardt, spicetown.com.au