“Thebarwassobusythatallthehotelsaround
uscomplainedandwegotshutdownbecausewe
didn’thavea hotellicence,weonlyhada restaurant
licence,”hesays.Inthosedays,Hemmesexplains,
a restaurantlicenceallowedyoutoservedrinksas
longasyourcustomershadtheintentiontodine.
“Oncewegotshutdown,I hadtoputa gateup
there– thegateis stilltheretoday– andI wouldlet
onein,oneout.Andastheycamein,I wouldsay,
‘Doyouhavetheintentiontodine?’Andtheywould
say,‘Yes,Justin,I havetheintentiontodine,’”he
says,laughingat thememory.
TheAngelgaveHemmesa tasteoftheindustry,
butit wasHotelCBDthatreallyignitedhispassion.
“Itwastheenergyyougetandtheadrenalineof
creatingplaceswherepeoplecometohavea good
timeandsocialise,”hesays.“It’ssucha positive
energyandit reflectsontoyou.”
HotelCBDopenedin1995.JohnHemmes
hadboughta buildingthathousedanoldbookshop
andsomederelictofficesonthecornerofYork
StreetandKingStreet.Hisplanwastorenovate
andleasethebuilding.
ThemomentHemmeswalkedintothespace,his
imagination took hold and he could see the building
fullofpeople,havinga greattime.It’ssomethingthat
stillhappenswheneverheentersanemptyproperty.
“I actuallyseeit completed,”hesays.“I seethe
peopleinit.AndI seetheminteractingandhowthey
interact.It’slikeI’mwalkingthroughit.Whenwe’re
open,it’salmostlikeI’vehada premonitionand
that’showtheyare.”
HotelCBDwasthefirsttimeheexperiencedsuch
a vision,imagininga multi-levelvenuethatoffered
somethingforeveryone.“Inthosedays,if youwere
at a barandwantedtoeatsomegoodfood,you’d
havetoleaveandgotoa restaurant.Andthenif you
wantedtohavecocktails,you’dhavetofinda cocktail
bar,andthenif youwantedtodance,you’dgotoa
nightclub.Theywerealldifferentvenuesandyou’d
behoppingaroundallnight.I said,‘Whatif weput
allofthatinonebuilding?’”
Hisfatherlovedtheideaandsoonthewhole
familywasworkingtogethertodesignanddevelop
theproject,includinghismother,Merivale,and
hissister,Bettina.Theresultwasunlikeanything
Sydneyhadseenbefore.
“Theideawastobuildthisthingandthenhave
someonerunit andtakea lease,”heexplains.“We
had someone and we started building it – I worked➤ThebaratLittle
Felix,Sydney.
Opposite,from
left:Justin
Hemmes;with
his father, John.