Picabar

Picabar is a bar and music venue in Perth, Western Australia, situated in the Perth Cultural Centre beside the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), whose name provides the basis for the venue's name. It occupies part of the historic Perth Boys School building, a structure associated with the former Perth Central School complex and the early twentieth-century development of the precinct. The venue was established in 2012 by brothers Brian and Conor Buckley and Brian's wife, Melissa Bowen. The business took over a space that had reportedly been unused and boarded up for approximately twelve years. Its initial arrangement was a six-month sublease from PICA, accompanied by the possibility of a longer ten-year term if PICA's own lease from the state government was renewed. Picabar developed as a compact, informal hospitality venue serving the cultural precinct and the wider Northbridge and Perth nightlife communities. Picabar's physical character is closely connected to the Perth Cultural Centre. It includes an outdoor courtyard accessible from the centre's steps and plaza, together with outdoor tables along the edge of the precinct. Its setting, casual atmosphere and relationship with nearby arts institutions helped make it a recognizable part of Perth's youth, hospitality and alternative cultural scenes. Public descriptions have positioned it between a traditional dive bar and a more design-conscious or hipster-oriented venue. It has also become a recurring subject of local internet culture, including memes and social commentary about Perth nightlife. The venue became nationally visible during a lease dispute in 2018 and 2019. The underlying issue arose after the state government's management of the precinct changed. PICA's lease was not renewed, leaving both PICA and Picabar operating on month-to-month arrangements. In October 2018, control of the precinct was transferred to the Perth Theatre Trust, which terminated PICA's lease with three weeks' notice. Because Picabar occupied the site through PICA, its sublease was also placed at risk. The proposed new arrangement would exclude the bar area and subject it to an expression-of-interest process. The threatened closure prompted a public campaign to retain Picabar. A Change.org petition reported by contemporary coverage attracted around 11,000 signatures, including support from competitors and other Western Australian hospitality figures. The state government later provided a temporary reprieve until March 2019, and Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman intervened to ensure that Picabar's operators would receive first preference in negotiations. The owners said they had previously received assurances that a longer-term arrangement would ultimately be available; that claim was disputed by Duncan Ord, the director general of the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. On 15 October 2019, Picabar signed a new five-year lease with an option for an extension. The agreement required renovations and allowed for additional alfresco space. The venue underwent substantial renovation in 2020. The episode was framed in national media as an example of community pressure and collective support preserving an independent hospitality business in a publicly significant cultural precinct. As of November 2018, the venue was reported to employ 15 people. Detailed current ownership, financial, executive and operating information is not publicly established in the supplied reference material.

Picabar opened in 2012 in Perth's Perth Cultural Centre. The business was founded by brothers Brian and Conor Buckley and Brian's wife, Melissa Bowen, as a family-operated bar and music venue. It occupied a previously unused, boarded-up area of the old Perth Boys School building, part of the historic Perth Central School complex. The site placed Picabar next to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, or PICA, and gave it a distinctive relationship with Perth's arts and nightlife communities. The original property arrangement was based on a six-month sublease from PICA, with the prospect of a longer ten-year term conditional on renewal of PICA's own lease from the state government. When PICA's lease was not renewed, both organizations moved to month-to-month arrangements. Picabar's operators later said that they had been assured that a long-term solution would eventually be found, although that account was denied by Duncan Ord, director general of the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The dispute intensified in October 2018, when management of the precinct was transferred from the government to the Perth Theatre Trust. The Trust terminated PICA's lease with three weeks' notice, which placed Picabar's sublease in jeopardy. PICA was expected to receive a new sublease, but the bar area was to be excluded and considered through an expression-of-interest process. The potential loss of Picabar generated significant local opposition because the venue had become an established social fixture in Perth's cultural precinct and was associated with the city's youth and alternative nightlife cultures. A campaign to preserve the venue included a Change.org petition known as Save Picabar. The petition reportedly collected about 11,000 signatures, including endorsements from competing venues and other hospitality-industry participants. The state government subsequently granted a temporary reprieve through March 2019. Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman also intervened to ensure that Picabar's operators would receive first preference during negotiations for the site. The controversy attracted national attention and was widely presented as a case in which community mobilization helped protect an independent venue. The negotiations concluded on 15 October 2019, when Picabar signed a new five-year lease with an option to extend. The agreement included renovation obligations and allowed for more alfresco space. Picabar was substantially renovated in 2020. Its courtyard, outdoor tables and location by the cultural-centre plaza remain central to its identity. The venue is commonly characterized as occupying a space between a dive bar and a hipster hangout, while local online culture has repeatedly used Picabar as a reference point for Perth nightlife. Publicly available reference material does not provide a complete account of its current corporate structure, financial performance, menu, event calendar or present staffing.

• 2020

  Venue is substantially renovated

  [1]Picabaren.wikipedia.org

  Picabar undergoes substantial renovation after securing its new lease.

• 2019

  Five-year lease is signed

  [1]Picabaren.wikipedia.org

  On 15 October, Picabar secures a new five-year lease with an extension option and provisions for renovation and additional alfresco space.

• 2018

  Lease dispute threatens the venue's future

  [1]Picabaren.wikipedia.org

  Changes to management of the Perth Cultural Centre and the termination of PICA's lease put Picabar's sublease at risk.

• 2018

  Public campaign seeks to retain Picabar

  [1]Picabaren.wikipedia.org

  The Save Picabar petition reportedly reaches approximately 11,000 signatures, generating substantial public and industry support.

• 2012

  Picabar opens in the Perth Cultural Centre

  [1]Picabaren.wikipedia.org

  Brian Buckley, Conor Buckley and Melissa Bowen open the family-operated bar and music venue in a previously unused space in the former Perth Boys School building.

An independent, informal Perth cultural-precinct bar combining nightlife, music, outdoor social space and a strong connection to local youth and alternative arts culture.

• Hospitality · 2012

  Bar beverages

  Picabar's core commercial offering is a casual bar service associated with nightlife in Perth's cultural centre. Public reference material identifies the venue as a bar but does not provide a complete current drinks list or specific signature products.

• Entertainment · 2012

  Music and cultural venue programming

  The venue operates as a music and social venue as well as a bar. Its programming and atmosphere are connected to the surrounding Perth Cultural Centre, although the supplied sources do not specify a complete roster of performers or recurring events.

• Hospitality space · 2012

  Courtyard and alfresco space

  An outdoor courtyard opens toward the Perth Cultural Centre's steps and plaza, with additional outdoor tables along the precinct edge. The 2019 lease permitted further alfresco development, making outdoor social space an important part of Picabar's venue identity.

• 2018Save Picabar

  Australia · Western Australia

  A community campaign sought to prevent Picabar's removal from the Perth Cultural Centre after changes to the precinct's lease arrangements. A Change.org petition reportedly attracted around 11,000 signatures, including support from hospitality competitors and other industry members.

  Outcome. The venue received a temporary reprieve, and the state government gave Picabar's operators first preference in subsequent negotiations. A new lease was ultimately signed in 2019.

  Source

• 2019

  Picabar signs a new five-year leaseStrategy

  Background

  Following the lease dispute and public campaign, Picabar needed a longer-term occupancy arrangement for its Perth Cultural Centre premises.

  Action taken

  The operators signed a five-year lease with an option for an extension. The agreement included renovation requirements and allowance for additional alfresco space.

  Aftermath

  Picabar remained in the precinct and underwent substantial renovation in 2020.

  Source

• 2018

  Picabar contests the loss of its subleaseStrategy

  Background

  The transfer of precinct management to the Perth Theatre Trust and termination of PICA's lease threatened Picabar's occupancy because the bar's rights derived from a PICA sublease.

  Action taken

  The operators participated in negotiations and benefited from a public campaign and ministerial intervention seeking to preserve the venue at the site.

  Aftermath

  The government granted a temporary reprieve and gave the operators first preference in negotiations, leading to a new lease the following year.

  • Unnamed Perth hospitality competitors — Competitors reportedly supported the Save Picabar petition and campaign.

  Source

1. 1Picabaren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Picabar official websitepicabar.com.au