The Bergy Seltzer's only been in business since 2019, but this Sydney Road haunt feels like it’s always been there. Now expanding with a 200-person capacity bandroom, co-owner David “Frankie” Cudmore says the warm familiarity to this cosy hole-in-the wall dive bar will never change.
Even the neon light spilling onto the pavement is welcoming, drawing you into the closeness of that snug bar space, and a sliver of a beer garden just feels like your old sharehouse backyard. And maybe it’s because Frankie, who doubles as the man behind the bar, is a lifelong Brunswick local.
“I grew up in Brunswick,” Frankie says. “Mum didn’t like me going to Sydney Road as a teenager, it was too rough. By the time I started working at the Brunswick Hotel, it was turning.
Read Melbourne’s most comprehensive range of features and interviews here.
It’s changed a lot. It used to be families and the working class, and next came a lot of students. Now with all the apartments going up there’s definitely a trend towards young professionals.”
Formerly the band booker and venue manager at the Brunswick Hotel, Frankie’s ethos is to run a place for locals, to give people that welcoming, community feel. And part of that is being the man behind the bar, bringing that old-school pub vibe.
“People like coming in and meeting the owner here,” Frankie says. “You don’t get as many ‘mum and dad’ operations in pubs these days. My grandfather used to run the Kilkenny Inn. Granddad was behind the bar with my uncle, mum and sis were waiting tables, nan was in the kitchen, and people would go there for the family aspect. The dynamic is different now. There’s a McDonalds formula that comes with bigger venue groups, and you can lose that human element. They churn through staff and a lot of people get burnt out in hospitality, whereas we’ve had the same people here from day dot.”
View this post on Instagram
Frankie’s adamant this intimate ‘front bar’ won’t be lost with the exciting changes ahead for the Bergy. They’re expanding, having just signed a long lease on the space next door which will become a 200-person capacity bandroom and additional beer garden. According to Frankie, it’s just the venue Brunswick needs.
“I know a lot of bands that would have been booking venues of 500 pre-covid, and now they’re pulling out of gigs because they’re only getting 200,” Frankie says. “We’ll be that middle ground for bands.”
The expansion also means the Bergy can start putting the kitchen to good use.
“At the moment, the stage is next to the kitchen, so with the new space opening up we’re planning to renovate it,” Frankie says.
What’s on the menu? The idea is to keep it to share plates and ‘something you can eat with your hands’ rather than a full pub feed. Beyond that, it’s all open.
“The kitchen is basically the same size as a food truck,” Frankie says. “So we’re thinking it could be a great opportunity to let chefs take on the space for popups, and it’s a chance for them to try out new ideas.”
It’s this “Give someone a go” spirit that runs through the Bergy. Although the new bandroom will allow for bigger gigs, they’ll keep the current performance space at the front bar going – especially for the newer, smaller acts.
“The band tonight are uni kids in a jazz group, experimenting, finding new things,” Frankie says. “Performers need a place like this, where they can get started and feel their way. You don’t become a rock star overnight. It’s not about the money for them, it’s about figuring out what they actually want to do.”
The free comedy nights on Monday are also fertile ground for experimentation, a place for comics to test new material and see whether their jokes catch fire or fizzle out.
“We get a range of comedians,” Frankie says. “New comedians on open mic, performers on the regular circuit. Even big-name stand-ups, like Dave Hughes, come in for shits and giggles. There’s a lot of variation each week.”
But there’s also been a lot of variation in gig attendance and pub visits post-Covid.
“Covid’s changed a lot of people’s ‘going out’ patterns,” Frankie says. “People are saving for big events, so they’re not going out as casually, going to the pub for the sake of going to the pub. Midweek gigs have been up and down, but we’re still doing gigs six days a week, including vinyl DJs.”
“I expect the next few months will be busy for everyone. You’ve just got to look at all the touring bands, every week there’s a big gig or a stadium show. Then it’ll die down again at Christmas, and then hopefully in the new year it all normalises – where people will go to a local gig rather than just saving up for a big gig.”
View this post on Instagram
But there’s a lot of confidence bands and patrons need to regain after Covid, and flexibility will be key for successful venues.
“After lockdowns, we see a lot of people waiting until the week of to book tickets,” Frankie says. “So you can get a few days out and it’s just a 10 per cent capacity, and bands pull out because of the uncertainty. And someone takes the hit. It looks like musicians and venues will be sharing the hit for the next year as we get through this.”
With warm weather and festivals on the horizon, Frankie’s hoping the new beer garden and bar in the next-door space will capture some of the summer crowd looking to be out and about for the sake of it.
“We’ll have a bar in the beer garden and another in the bandroom,” Frankie says. “The focus is to make this area more of a designated front bar, with welcoming vibes and no frills where locals can just stop in for a drink.”
And it’s a well-stocked bar for such a small spot. A few shelves of spirits, fridge of tinnies, and the Bergy taps feature stalwart pub lagers and rotating specials – usually something from Braeside.
“My friend owns Braeside brewing down in Mordialloc, and he’s experimenting with different kinds of sours, so he’s pretty much always on that guest tap with something new,” Frankie says. “Sours will be great in summer, and in winter we’ll always do mulled wine.”
The Bergy cocktails are “delicious and boozy, not fancy”, and like most pubs, they’ve also made the move into stocking non-alc beverages.
“If you’d said five years ago I’d be selling non-alcoholic beer, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Frankie says. “But it’s popular, and it’s important to cater to a range, including that younger generation who don’t seem to drink as much.”
So what’s the future of Bergy and live music in Brunswick?
“The cost of running a venue is going up, and it means that prices are going up for the customers too,” Frankie says. “But we want to be here doing this in Brunswick. We’ve seen other venues closing, but we’re investing in more live music.
“A worrying thing about gentrification from a music point of view, is where can these musicians practice when they’re surrounded by apartments? Where can a drummer practice? If the area keeps changing, will there still be spaces for artists to make art in Brunswick?
“If we’re able to put two-three good shows on a week, give a new band or comedian a chance to hone their craft or sell out a show – that’s what you want to see. We’re creating a space where that can happen.”
The Bergy feels like it’s always been here. In just a few years it’s become part of the heart of Sydney Road, and it’s not going anytime soon. Whatever Brunswick becomes, they’re in it for the long haul.
Head to the Bergy Seltzer website here and stay tuned by following them on Facebook and Instagram.
This article was made in partnership with The Bergy Seltzer.
