SYDNEY’S LAST “REAL PUB” DITCHES HIPSTERS FOR TRADIES

An inner Sydney pub is bucking the trend by declaring war against hipsters.

In what is obviously a very smart marketing move, the Abbotts Hotel in Waterloo recently reinvented itself as ‘Sydney’s last real pub’, banning man buns, moustaches and fedoras and welcoming tradesmen wearing hi-vis vests, thongs and singlets.

Fancy craft beers and smashed avocado have also been ditched in favour of $5 VBs, $10 chicken schnitzels and Friday night live music.

A recent post on the hotel’s Facebook page states, “Here at the Abbotts, we’re not rude to you, we don’t think we are too cool, we won’t serve you overpriced food and drink. We’re Sydney’s last real pub. No hipsters allowed.’

‘Around us, we’ve seen all the hotels become hipster havens, with 37 different types of beer on tap and everyone has sleeve tattoos and beautifully manicured moustaches,’ Abbotts Hotel publican Bill Smith told The Daily Telegraph.

‘So many hotels say no work boots, no hi-vis gear after 4pm. The tradies coming in say it’s so unusual, they tend to be looked down on.’

Three hundred metres down the road from Abbotts Hotel is the hipster-friendly Lord Raglan Hotel, which became a speciality craft beer bar several years ago.

Also close by is the currently vacant Alexandria Hotel bought by Justin Hemmes and the Merivale group for $10 million.It is also expected to become a hipster-friendly establishment when it’s refurbished.

But Mr Smith told The Daily Telegraph that he “won’t be too much of a stickler” in enforcing the ban. “Hipsters are still welcome here, but the guys working on-site will probably not be welcome in Justin’s site when it opens,” he said.

Sources: Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail