14 July 2011

Another empty shopfront in Garema Place?

| MsCheeky
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The Australian pub seems to have shut its doors and stolen away into the night. Outdoor furniture gone, windows covered over, no more repetitious 70’s and 80’s soundtrack. Gone forever?

The ice skating rink has really injected some welcome life and colour into the space, but as someone who’s worked here for about six years, I find it sad to see all the empty shopfronts around Garema Place.

Shopping malls are not my bag, baby. Let’s keep the more interesting independent shops and a bit of life into the open-air city centre.

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All I can say is good riddance to them. A mate and I went in there one Friday night to see what it was all about and all we got from bar staff was bad attitude and threats. Usually it takes two to tango, but in this case I still have no idea what we did wrong. We walked in, sat at a table that was reserved (no reserved sign though), vacated the table when TOLD, moved to the bar and ordered two beers. We swore that we would never set foot in there again.

Ha ha, looks like I was right – I will never set foot in that pub again. Cracks me up ha ha..

The seats were made out of empty kerosene drums, they were going for an “Outback” Theme.

And you forgot to mention the words tacky and awful 🙂

That goes without saying. Kitsch is the term I would use.

Keijidosha said :

bloviate said :

I was just completely confused about there being an Australian themed pub in Australia. Do they have Irish themed pubs in Ireland?

Who said anything about it being a themed pub? “The Australian” is a common (albeit unimaginative)name for pubs/hotels right across this country.

.

The seats were made out of empty kerosene drums, they were going for an “Outback” Theme.

bloviate said :

I was just completely confused about there being an Australian themed pub in Australia. Do they have Irish themed pubs in Ireland?

Who said anything about it being a themed pub? “The Australian” is a common (albeit unimaginative)name for pubs/hotels right across this country.

In case anyone else is confused by obviously misleading names; ICBM does not house missiles, the interior measurements of Cube are not equal, and Uni Pub and Academy do not offer tertiary education courses.

That’s a shame to hear. It was nice to have another pub in the city that’s not a wanky trendy place with overpriced drinks where people go to be ‘seen’.

I was just completely confused about there being an Australian themed pub in Australia. Do they have Irish themed pubs in Ireland?

The Australian was a poor replacement to Woodstock anyway. It was filled with nothing but bogans. ‘The Australian’….boring! And so not suited to Canberra….might have done better if it were in located in Alice Springs maybe.
I hope they jazz the place up a bit and make it a bar that people actually want to go to.

Beserk Keyboard Warrior8:40 am 15 Jul 11

There just doesn’t seem to be any money to be made in bars in Canberra… unless it happens to be called Mooseheads or Unipub.

c` said :

Put a huge canopy over city walk. Might be as simple as that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Street_Experience

Having been there and seen it, I’d have to say that is a good idea you have!

YetAnotherBlowIn7:46 am 15 Jul 11

Anyone interested in forming a consortium, taking over the lease and remodelling the pub in the style of Hi! Come and join us in Canberra?

Tetranitrate8:35 pm 14 Jul 11

This is probably a belated result of the liquor laws rather than anything to do with the increasingly desolate appearance of Garema place.

Holden Caulfield8:20 pm 14 Jul 11

gooterz said :

How long before its part of the canberra centre!
Doesnt take much to realise the new part of the canberra centre has a big window facing out toward Centrepoint which would easily be extended.

Possible QIC expansion into Garema Place was one of the main reasons given by Caffe Della Piazza for closing their doors a year or two back.

There may have been more to it than that behind the scenes, I don’t know, but I’m still sad we have lost that restaurant as it was a real favourite.

MelonHead said :

Wouldn’t this ramshackle 2 story building much better serve Canberra’s needs by being a 22 storey office block, encompassing a multitude of community needs, as well as being the greenest building in town?

Think of the profits!

It could be interesting to replace that block with a high rise with shops on the ground floor with a mix of office a residential higher up. It would suit the centrepoint name more than the current building does.

Put a huge canopy over city walk. Might be as simple as that.

It’s closed.

Yet another pub gone.

I can 100% confirm that The Australian is closed for good. I can’t confirm as to why, but it is not being renovated, it’s goooone!

Golden-Alpine6:38 pm 14 Jul 11

MelonHead said :

Pay attention to RA. Is not this site owned by QIC (aka our Grubbiment’s Overlords)?

Wouldn’t this ramshackle 2 story building much better serve Canberra’s needs by being a 22 storey office block, encompassing a multitude of community needs, as well as being the greenest building in town?

Think of the profits!

Turn that block into a CostCo!!!! 😉

Pay attention to RA. Is not this site owned by QIC (aka our Grubbiment’s Overlords)?

Wouldn’t this ramshackle 2 story building much better serve Canberra’s needs by being a 22 storey office block, encompassing a multitude of community needs, as well as being the greenest building in town?

Think of the profits!

Mr Lubberlubber6:14 pm 14 Jul 11

Just to clarify, Westfield doesn’t own Canberra Centre – it is Qld Investment Corp (QIC).

As others have said, the only way to stop it happening is to support the shops that are there. The problem is that the area attracts a fair few marginal businesses, although it also has some long-established ones. These businesses do little to create a critical mass to get people out of the Mall. Without some sort of co-ordinated intervention to make the place draw more people, it will never getb there. The ice skating rink is a very good example of things that could do this. It would be great to have something different happening in there all year round so there is a reason to go there apart from the shops. Once this happens, the right businesses can open there and be self-supporting.

JennD said :

What could we do to ensure it survives westfield?

buy things from them ?

How long before its part of the canberra centre!
Doesnt take much to realise the new part of the canberra centre has a big window facing out toward Centrepoint which would easily be extended.

Totally agree, I’d love to keep garema place going as a shopping mall – the original kind! All a mall is is a dedicated walking area for doing things in whether it’s buying and selling or not. Putting them inside buildings is fine to an extent (obviously weather is an impact!) but I also love walking along outside, popping into the odd shop or two. What could we do to ensure it survives westfield?

They’ve started taking down the signage, and a family member has been calling/emailing for weeks regarding a booking with no answer. If they’re renovating you’d think there would be some kind of signage on the window/website to reflect this.

The number of empty shops in City Walk is steadily climbing. Centerpoint is virtually empty and other small plazas are looking thin.

Im still unsure what made the pub “Australian”.

YetAnotherBlowIn3:28 pm 14 Jul 11

deye said :

That said, whether it’s closed or renovating it sure didn’t last long.

Depends on your time scale. It lasted longer than Red Herring…

There’s nothing on their website.

I think they are renovating given the lack of “for lease” signs and that they haven’t boarded up upstairs and appeared to be doing something in there last night.

That said, whether it’s closed or renovating it sure didn’t last long.

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