From Eh? to Z

Zedbar:

www.zedbar.com.au

A couple of years ago the owner of Albury’s Globe Hotel, Brian Grenfell, had a window of opportunity to renovate but elected to hold off. Meanwhile, Globe’s competition got busy revamping their venues and soon saw its patrons jumping ship.Drastic action was required. So designer Paul Kelly donned his super hero cape and flew to the rescue. The old ’80s interior (comprising red padded walls, chrome fixtures and black trimming) had to go, plus the toilet block smack bang in the middle of the venue was definitely for the chop.“We were brought in to do an emergency rectification, which meant bringing a new competitive edge to the business,” explained Paul. “The venue was operating mainly as a late-night club with hardly any day or evening trade and that’s not good for a venue in a provincial town. So we totally stripped out the main section of the hotel to make one, large space down the centre of the venue with one main service bar. We then created a raised restaurant section at the rear of the space. We also ripped the roof of an adjacent area to create a huge, internal courtyard.”The venue was totally gutted and stripped back to its brickwork, injecting a nouvelle-heritage feel. Working within the existing base structure, Paul then added divisions to the space aiming for a venue that’s not too contemporary.“Albury doesn’t need a contemporary space, but rather one that attracts a whole variety of people,” he said. “We then brought in a lot of quirky Sydney elements such as hanging chairs, giant white bison heads, and balsa-wood deer antlers — trying to bring a bit of a Sydney essence to the venue.”Zedbar, as it’s now known, has an everyday lounge and a variety of zones (prior to the renovation, the whole space was a one-trick pony). There are central high table areas, front lounges, outdoor courtyards, powder rooms, and a restaurant section; all attracting a much wider variety of patrons.