ontheconstructionsite.Thepotentialtenantpulled
out.Theysaidit wastooambitious,thatit wasn’t
goingtowork.Sowewereleftwitha buildingthat
we’ddesignedandbuilt.Dadsaid,‘Well,it wasyour
idea.Yougoandrunit.’”
Hemmesranthevenuefortwoyears,turningit
intoSydney’shottestproperty.Crowdsofpartygoers
wouldlinethestreetoutside,waitingtogetintothe
building’scelebratednightclub– ortobeserenaded
byfashioniconMaggieTabberer’sdaughterBrooke,
whomanagedthethird-floorcocktaillounge.
“Shewasa fabuloussinger,”recallsHemmes.
“Wehada pianointhereandshewasthehost- itwaslikesomethingoffTheLoveBoat. There
wasnothingelselikeit.”
A youngLukeManganwastheheadchefat Bistro
CBDonthefirstfloor,whilethesecondfloorwas
dedicatedtopooltablesandSegaRallymachines.
“ItwassouniquetoSydneyandpeople
embracedit somuchthatit encouragedmetodo
somethingbiggerandmorechallenging,”hesays.
Hisnextchallengewasjustdowntheroad,
wherehetookontheSlipInn.It wasa bigger
andmoreambitiousprojectthanHotelCBD,
ina muchquieterarea.Hemmessaysthatpart
ofKingStreetusedtobe“aghosttown”.
Hisfather’sfriendsbeganwarningthe
businessmanthathehadtoomuchfaith
inhissonandwasblindtotheproject’sobvious
shortcomings.It was,theywarned, doomed to fail.
“WhenI opened,thefirst
Friday,it wasempty,”hesays.
“Nota soulinthere.I remember
I rangmydadandsaid‘I thinkI
fuckedup.’Hesaid,‘Whatdo
youmean?’I said,‘There’snoone
here,Dad.’Andhesaid,‘Don’t
worry.Jussy,if youthinkit’s
goingtobegood,it willbegood.’”
ThenextFriday,therewasnoonethereagain,
recallsHemmes.Depressed,heranghisfather
tobreakthenews.Again,hisfathersaid,“Don’t
worry,Jussy,it willhappen.”
JohnwasrightandtheSlipInnbecameanother
roaringsuccess,spurringHemmestotakeonaneven
biggergamble,Establishment,whichwillcelebrate
its20thanniversarynextyear.Butit wouldn’tbethe
lasttimehisfather’sencouragementkepthimgoing.
“Mydadhadblindfaithinme.Mymumwasthe
same.WhenI didIvy,I putsomuchonthelineand
it wassucha difficultprocess.It reallyputa lotof
stressonthebusiness,financially.I justkeptgetting
knockedbackandknockedbackandknockedbackby
the council. The costs were building. I got to a point
whereI said,‘Dad,I thinkI’mgoingtohavetopull
thepinonthisone.I don’tthinkit’sgoingtohappen.’
“I wasstandingonthestepsofTownHall,andI
wasactuallycryingat thetime.I wasbroken.I said,
‘I don’tthinkit’sgoingtowork.’Andhesaid,‘Ifyou
thinkit’sgoingtowork,stickwithit.’If it wasn’t
fordad...”Hemmestailsoff.“I wasa brokenman.”
JohnHemmespassedawayin2015,which
meanshewon’tbetheretosupporthisson
throughhisbiggestprojecttodate,a reported
$1.5-billionredevelopmentofTheIvy.
It’stheonlytimeduringourconversation
thatHemmesis lessthanforthcoming,searching
carefullyforeachword.
“It’sinaction,butit’sa longwayaway.Before
we break ground,it willbefouryears.There’sa
vision.We’vebeenworkingonit
fora coupleofyearsandit will
continuetoevolveandchange.”
Doesit makehimnervous?
“No.”Hepauses.“Excited.It’s
veryexciting.It willbethebiggest
thingthatI everdoinmylife.But
it’snotoverlycomplex.It’sjust
takingallthelearningsfromwhatwe’vedoneoverthe
yearsandconsolidatingthemtocreatesomething
reallyiconic.It’sa bitofa legacyformeandforthe
city.I wantit tobereallyspecial.”
He’sundernoillusions,it willbechallenging.
Business,hesays,is tougherthanit’severbeen.
“It’sa resultofthelockoutlaws,”hesays.“Sydney’s
nothotpropertyanymore,notlikeit usedtobe.I
feelnowthetimingis rightforanexplosioninthe
rightdirection.Thestarsarealigning.I thinkthings
arelookingup.If wesparkit,it’sgoingtogo.I feel
peoplewantchange.Theywantexcitement.They
wantthecitytobebusy.TheywantSydneytobe
fabulous.Wejustneedtoigniteit.”
Andif anyonehasthepower to make that
happen, it’s Hemmes.●Clockwisefrom
topleft:Sydney’s
LittleFelix
anditsbar;
a bartender
servesa cocktail
atLittleFelix;
Merivale(from
left),Justin,John
andBettina
Hemmes.“Thestarsarealigning.
I thinkthings are
lookingup. Ifwespark
it, it’s going to go.”76 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW (PORTRAIT) & NIKKI TO (LITTLE FELIX).