Bartender Brett Nebauer, chef Kierain Bunton and bartender Theo Boggs are After Service. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Three hospo mates walk into a bar and start a party. That’s not the start of a joke; it’s the business model of After Service and its fun-fuelled food and drink pop-ups in venues around Canberra.
Kieran Bunton works in the kitchen of Edgar’s Inn and is an old school friend of Theo Boggs, who is currently spending most of his time raising kids but has previously worked at venues like Bar Rochford, Onzieme and Cicada Bar. Together with their friend Brett Nebauer – award-winning bartender at Onzieme and 11e Cave – they wanted to start showcasing their creative talents beyond the constraints of their ‘day jobs’.
“We’ve been in hospo for about 15 years, and we’re at an age where we wanted to start doing something for ourselves,” Brett told Region.
“Running this between the three of us is a nice way to flex that muscle. It’s not dictated by anyone else and it’s a good representation of how we like to do things,” Kierain added.
“We’ve all known each other for a long time, and we started to think about what was next for us. And we all have similar values and we look at the industry in a similar way.”
Previous After Service pop-ups have been at Miss Van’s and Squeaky Clean. Photo: Cassie Abraham @saltyjugs.
Each member of the team brings experiences from fine dining to dive bars, and they’ve built up a strong network of people across the industry. After Service allows them to take what they’ve learned in their 15 years, create something entirely new and show off the best of what the industry can be.
As Theo told Region: “We wanted to portray the reasons we fell in love with hospitality: the energy, the product and even the energy of the hospitality community itself is what we try to put into each event.”
Opening a restaurant or bar comes with huge financial outlay and risk, but After Service avoids this hassle by doing pop-ups, using the space of other venues after hours for one-off events. Their first event was held at Miss Van’s in 2024, and they backed that up with a late-night session at Squeaky Clean. This weekend, they are taking over the space at Onzieme for an afternoon fuelled by summer nostalgia and laid-back barbecue vibes.
The poster for the event gives you some idea of what you can expect: fun, nostalgia and a good time all around. Poster designed by Good Times Studio. Photo: After Service/Instagram.
While every event is different, the structure is generally the same: a few snacks and drinks in a different venue every time, done in a fun way. This time the theme is So Fresh – Summer Hits: a summer barbecue fuelled by nostalgia. The food plays with the idea of low brow becoming high brow: one item on Sunday’s menu takes the classic 90’s snack of cabanossi and cheese on a Jatz cracker and fried ham and cheese croquettes rolled in a Jatz crumb.
“It’s tuck shop classics with a little rizz,” Kierain jokes.
The cocktails on offer change for every event to suit the vibe of the food and the theme. This time, they are creative versions of what Theo calls the ‘inis’: think Appletinis and Bellinis, plus some beers, wines, and non-alcoholic options.
The menu contains a limited list of snacks and cocktails. Photo: Cassie Abraham @saltyjugs.
The events have so far been well attended by other hospitality mates, regulars from their ‘day jobs’ who are keen to support them and the circle is growing as more people cotton on to these slightly underground ‘if you know, you know’ experiences. The boys say that their success is down to the relationships they’ve built with people over the years and the support of friends.
Eventually, they’d like to take on a three to six-month residency before eventually opening something more permanent. But for now, they’re happy bar-hopping.
After Service will be at Onzieme, corner of Kennedy and Eyre streets, Kingston, on Sunday, 23 February, from 1 pm until late. Walk-ins only. Follow After Service on Instagram to find out more about their events and pop-ups.
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