When Mixed Business Enmore opened on Thursday, May 1 above Emma’s Snack Bar in Sydney’s inner west, the area’s newest small bar became the latest chapter in a 55-year run at the site for three generations of the Sofy family.

“We used to live up here, above the shop,” said Anthony Sofy. At various stages the Mixed Business space was a bedroom and hallway, then a living room. Its bathroom used to be Anthony’s childhood bedroom.

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His parents, Lebanese immigrants George and Emma Sofy, opened a corner store here in 1970. By the 1980s it was serving Emma’s Lebanese food; and in 1999 Anthony took over as chef and rebranded it Emma’s on Liberty, which later morphed into Emma’s Snack Bar.

The corner site – in a busy but mostly residential part of Enmore – is part of inner-west food folklore, much like the closed Olympia Milk Bar site in neighbouring Stanmore, but is still thriving.

“[Mixed Business] has been on the cards for about 15 years,” Anthony said. If he’d acted earlier on his instinct, Anthony would’ve been one of Sydney’s small bar pioneers. Approvals, building and the pandemic all got in the way of his plans.

Anthony’s adult children, George, 22, and Charlie, 20, both juggle part-time roles in the business with university. They will work at the new bar, while 16-year-old Stella also helps out at Emma’s Snack Bar downstairs.

“They also grew up for the first part of their lives here, above the restaurant. Before they could talk, they could sing happy birthday because they heard it being sung downstairs,” Anthony said.

If it seems a little weird opening a bar in your childhood home, Anthony has dialled up on the past with framed family photos on the wall. There is also a martial arts poster, and a vintage mirror etched with flying geese. The colours and signage at Mixed Business feel like a cool take on an old-school venue.

The Mixed Business name is a nod to his parents’ original business in the 1970s. “We’re calling it a prequel,” Anthony said.

The bar snacks menu reflects the multiculturalism of the area and the extended Sofy family. Salt and vinegar potato scallops are inspired by childhood trips to the local chippie, and are listed alongside similar retro-inspired dishes such as a fried chicken and garlic sandwich, and French fries with curry sauce. The snack list includes a dessert of fried pancakes with ricotta and orange blossom, a reflection of the Sofys’ Lebanese roots.

“My wife is Greek, we’ve put on her Dad’s favourite – grilled feta with bullhorn peppers,” Anthony said.

While there’ll be a tight cocktail list, and even the occasional Lebanese wine, Anthony said Mixed Business isn’t exclusively alcohol fuelled: “We’ll serve stovetop Lebanese coffee, it isn’t just a bar, it’s a community [venue].”

The local neighbourhood has a strong pull for the restaurateur and bar owner. Growing up “above the shop”, Anthony recalls being able to roam the area “until the street lights came on”.

Despite eventually moving nearby, there are times he misses life above the shop. “There was always something happening, noise,” he said.

George Sofy, who died in 1987, would trust regulars at the shop in the 1970s and ’80s to run up a tab, often without knowing their name. “He gave them nicknames, like Blondie.” There were a couple of complaints in the early days about the smell of garlic wafting out of Emma Sofy’s kitchen, but her culinary skills and eye for detail are still a big part of the business.

Anthony likens Emma to a secret shopper. Likely to turn up at any time, with her eye on every detail. Now, Emma will have to add upstairs to her tour.

Open Thu-Sat 5pm-late

59a Liberty Street, Enmore, @mixedbusiness_enmore