One man’s mission to resurrect Sydney’s Kings Cross

Kings Cross institution Cafe Hernandez served patrons for decades. Now, new owner Dave Spanton hopes to honour its legacy with Vermuteria.

Clockwise from left: David Spanton, left, hospitality veteran Michael Drescher and architect Michael Delany in the former Cafe Hernandez, now Spanish-Polish-themed Vermuteria. Picture: Chris Pearce

There was only one venue in Kings Cross that used to keep its lights on well after the famed Coca-Cola sign retired for the night – Cafe Hernandez.

The Spanish-influenced cafe featured in countless films and TV shows and was frequented by locals, gangsters and Frank Sinatra alike. Signature home-roasted coffee was served 24 hours a day. Games of checkers played out beneath a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Count-Duke of Olivares.

So when it shut its burgundy doors in 2021, exactly 50 years after late owner Joaquin served his first coffee, David Spanton thought: “We can’t let another institution in Sydney be gutted and fit out with plasma screens.”

Spanton, a veteran bartender and publisher, is garnering a reputation as the saviour of Kings Cross. Not once, but twice he has bought beloved venues in the area and reinvigorated them.

Having snapped up Piccolo Bar – favourite cafe of Cleaver Greene in Aussie TV series Rake – this week he introduces Vermuteria, an aperitif-style Spanish-Polish-themed venue, fitted out with the same paintings, trinkets and atmosphere that made Hernandez so beloved.

“I purchased Piccolo Bar because I’d lived in the area for years, and I was sick of seeing iconic places be turned into crap,” Spanton says. “It was a massive gamble, and I thought there was no way a bartender in his 40s could pull it off, but I took a chance. Long story short, I did it again with Hernandez.”

Collaborating with architect Michael Delany – whose resume of resurrecting Sydney gems includes the city’s answer to Berlin nightclubs, Club 77, The Abercrombie and Cafe Fredas – Spanton laughs when he confirms the design is so true to the original building, “we haven’t even cleaned a single mark off the walls”.

“If you look at the place and think ‘f..k, that looks old’, that’s exactly what I want,” he says.

Spanton has a simple recipe for success: pay respect to the former owners, keep the fit-out familiar, and add alcohol.

“A lot of these venues are ageing out because they couldn’t compete with current cafe culture – that idea of sitting for hours and sipping on a coffee isn’t common anymore.

“Most people just want to grab a takeaway and head off, so we added alcohol and a menu to take the place to the next level.”

Behind the Vermuteria bar. Picture: Chris Pearce

Any new additions are still old, Spanton assures. “The bar top was constructed predominantly from the pews of an old church from the 1850s.”

The walls – though still scuffed – feature photographs of the cafe and the Polish deli that occupied the space between the 1950s and ’70s. The menu includes a mix of cold cuts and deli sandwiches, and coffee beans roasted by the late owner available for sale.

Tinned seafood, blood sausages and a weekly selection of Australian and European cheeses are paired beside a selection of spritzers and sherry cobblers, and two 100-litre barrels of vermouth on tap. Crowd-favourite cocktails are on offer, and a mysterious “cake by the slice” for dessert.

Kings Cross has endured sweeping changes over the decades. As major collateral to NSW lockout laws, it was Australia’s most notorious red-light district, and became a battleground for new developments.

Mortadella and vermouth. Picture: Chris Pearce

Last year, singer Marcia Hines marched with local residents to protest the transformation of the art deco Metro Minerva Theatre into a 63-room boutique hotel with a nightclub and bar.

The fear of destroying a timeless venue, Spanton says, weighed heavily on the families who previously owned Vermuteria. “Now they can come in and see a photo of their dad behind the bar.”

The shift continues away from the old Kings Cross reputation for gentlemen’s clubs and king hits, Spanton adds. “We’re starting to put pride back in the name and see a lot more people choosing this area – it’s turning a corner. Kings Cross is taking the limelight back.”