Surry Hills to embrace new visitors this weekend as Crown Street opened for one day only

By ELLA SMITH

Adam Hunt, who owns Surry Hills bar Bad Mama with his partner Gemma, is looking forward to showcasing their “mad labour of love” again this weekend following a “beyond draining” period of trading during the pandemic.

While government payments kept the business afloat, Hunt says that council support in the pandemic has been invaluable.

“They’ve been great with grants, free outdoor seating, support for live music venues. They’re trying to undo years of damage done … to Sydney’s nightlife.”

Bad Mama will welcome visitors this Sunday under the City of Sydney’s Summer Streets program, which is part of a $12 million plan to help communities recover from the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

Visitors to Surry Hills can expect outdoor dining, roving entertainment, and a community buzz when Crown Street is pedestrianised for one day only this summer.

Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully hopes that the program will “begin the work of healing some of these wounds and inspire a recovery that puts community and creativity at the core of the Sydney that emerges from this crisis”.

Cr Scully says that the program will directly benefit 350 businesses, adding that outdoor dining “remains an essential part of what we’re doing to support business” in the pandemic.

Proven success 

High streets in Potts Point and Redfern have already undergone the one-day makeover, with Glebe and Pyrmont participating later this month.

“Venues were full and people relished the opportunity to re-discover their local offerings,” Cr Scully said.

Local social enterprise 107 Projects, which focuses on creating purposeful places and forming both business and community connections, opened its doors to the public on 23 January.

On the day, their multipurpose creative hub in Redfern offered a sausage sizzle, drinks, a clothes swap and tours of their rooftop garden with live music. They raised over $1600.

107 CEO Jess Cook said the day was a success for both business and the community.

“It was a bit quiet earlier on, but by 1:30 it was absolutely pumping,” they said.

While it was busy, the extra space for businesses to expand onto the street prevented any crowding – and put to ease any COVID-related concerns venues had.

“It was very comfortable and accessible, and beautifully simple. And I think that’s what people want,” Cook said.

“Taking over the street like that is such a beautiful symbol of re-interpreting public and shared space.”

Cook believes that there is a larger appetite for events like this amid the current climate of Omicron-related infections.

Due to 107’s multifaceted approach – as well as government payments and in-kind rent from the City of Sydney – they were able to remain financially stable during the pandemic.

107’s role during the pandemic, which generally included events and exhibitions, switched to providing support and risk mitigation strategies for the creative industry. Cook credits the resilience of 107’s team to their strong community networks, saying “without that, I don’t think we would have been able to navigate our way through the challenges”.

Council hopes to use this program to launch future road closures and high street activations, particularly as new variants of COVID-19 are expected to continue impacting communities and businesses.

“Learning from the events of this summer, I hope we can work with community and businesses to do more of this sort of activation as the year rolls on,” Cr Scully said.