From the late ’80s to the early noughties, the Punters Club – on Fitzroy’s Brunswick Street – was a linchpin of Melbourne’s live music scene. The grit and grunge were as bona fide as the carpets were beer-soaked, and gigs ran the genre gamut, making it a launchpad for such bands as Something for Kate, Spiderbait, Magic Dirt and You Am I.

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It left a gaping hole when it closed in 2002.

Fast-forward 22 years and a framed photo of the Punters’ final night hangs on the wall of a new incarnation of the pub, which reopens today with a new team but the same name. The anticipation has been mounting since they announced the news a few months ago.

“You can’t replicate something that’s 22 years gone,” co-owner Nathan Farrell tells Good Food. “We want to replicate that spirit ... And hopefully be open for another 20 years.”

Leading the charge is Jason Cameron, owner of Near & Fear Bar across the road, who’s recruited a multi-talented team: drinks whiz Matthew Francis and chef Dylan Marshall (both Marquis of Lorne) and branding expert Britt King.

Spearheading the music side of things is Mark Wilson, bassist in enduring Melbourne band Jet, as well as Farrell and Adam Booth, founders of music-management agency Calibre.

“I don’t think this pub should be called anything else. It’s a love letter.”

Matthew Francis, co-owner

For most of the years since the Punters’ closure, the site traded as good-times bar Bimbo Deluxe before transitioning to Kewpie, under Australian Venue Co, in 2021.

It’s been completely stripped back, with a frontage that convincingly replicates the original Punters, timber panelling throughout the interior and a nostalgic poolroom.

“I don’t think this pub should be called anything else,” says Francis. “It’s a love letter.”

What made the Punters was the music. So, reimagining the programming approach – with a 2024 audience in mind – was a delicate process for the team.

“It’s about understanding and respecting the legacy, trying to enhance it, but moving forward [with] contemporary acts and really diverse Melbourne-leaning stuff,” says Farrell.

Both free and unticketed, the inaugural line-up kicks off tonight with the funk-forward Harvey Sutherland, but also features homecoming gigs of sorts for the likes of indie-pop duo Frente! and Aussie music royalty Dave Graney, who played the Punters in its heyday.

Meanwhile, the kitchen that once churned out Bimbo’s famous $5 pizzas now does pub grub with a bit of extra panache. Yes, there’s a classic chicken (or eggplant) parma. But also a fancified Filet-o-Fish, South Melbourne Market dim sims with Lao Gan Ma chilli oil, and a minute steak served British-style – with brown sauce, chips and a fried egg.

And as “an ode to the Scenic”, the Adelaide Hills pub where chef Marshall made his mark, there are spins on two signatures: tuna tartare in a slashed-open packet of Smith’s salt-and-vinegar chips, and a kangaroo schnitzel with mash and pepper sauce.

Booze is accessible and affordable, with the easy-drinking house Punters Draught made by The Mill Brewery in Collingwood, and a handful of tap wines – by small local producers like the Yarra Valley’s Fin and SA’s Alpha Box & Dice – from $12 a glass. And with late-night fun part of the play, it’ll trade until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Once downstairs is running smoothly, the focus will shift to phase two: opening upstairs. The centrepiece of the darts room will be a jukebox full of CDs of artists from the original Punters era, while the old rooftop will get a refresh before reopening in spring.

But most exciting will be the 100-person ticketed band room, clad in timber “so you feel like you’re in a recording studio”, says Farrell.

“Downstairs [programming] needs to be curated really well because whoever’s on stage commands the pub. Up here, we can have a bit more fun ... with up-and-coming [artists] and more genre-diverse bills.”

Punters Club reopens Thursday, August 22, at 4pm. Open Tue-Thu 4pm-late; Fri-Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-late

376 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, puntersclubfitzroy.com