Picabar Explained

Nickname:PICA
Logo Image:File:Logo_of_Picabar.png
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:16
Mapframe-Marker:bar
Mapframe-Marker-Colour:
  1. BE1596
Address:51 James Street, Northbridge
City:Perth
Country:Australia
Type:Bar, music venue

Picabar is a bar and music venue located in Northbridge, Western Australia, within the Perth Cultural Centre.[1] It is situated adjacent to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) for which the bar is named.[2]

Description

The venue features an outdoor courtyard with access from the Perth Cultural Centre, near the steps and plaza,[3] as well as outdoor tables along the edge of the cultural centre.

It operates within the old Perth Boys School building, part of the Perth Central School complex in the early 1900s.[4] [5]

, it employs 15 staff.

History and operations

Picabar is the family business of brothers Brian and Conor Buckley, and Brian's wife Melissa Bowen. It opened in 2012 in a space that was unused and had been boarded up for 12 years.[6] [7] The bar owners subleased the space from PICA with a six-month lease, and an option for a longer, ten-year term subject to PICA's lease from the state government being renewed.

PICA's lease was not renewed, and both PICA and Picabar then ended up operating on month-to-month leases. Picabar's owners later stated that they were given assurances there would eventually be a long-term arrangement,[8] a claim denied by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries' director general Duncan Ord.

Lease renewal dispute

In October 2018, ownership of the precinct was transferred from the government to the Perth Theatre Trust (PTT), which terminated PICA's lease, and hence Picabar's sub-lease, with three weeks notice.[9] [10] PICA was to be given a new sublease from the PTT, excluding the bar area, which was to be opened up to an expression of interest process. By early November, the government gave Picabar a temporary reprieve until March 2019, and Culture and Arts minister David Templeman intervened to ensure Picabar's owners would be given the first preference in negotiations.

Public outrage led to a campaign to retain Picabar, culminating in a "Save Picabar" petition on Change.org that attracted 11,000 signatures,[11] including direct competitors and other members of the state's hospitality industry.[12] On 15 October 2019, a new five-year lease was signed,[13] with an option for an extension.[14] The lease requires renovations to be undertaken, with allowance for additional alfresco space. The incident, and the "people power" that saved Picabar, received national media coverage.[15]

The venue was substantially renovated in 2020.

Reception

The bar features prominently in Perth youth culture as a hangout and social fixture. It has a particular association with hipster culture, being described by The West Australian as "somewhere between a dive bar and a hipster hangout".[16] The bar is a regular topic of local internet culture, with the Instagram meme page 'meet_me_at_pica' regularly posting memes about the venue and associated youth culture.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Prestipino . David . 2020-09-17 . Revealing revamp: Shades of old greet lighter, larger Picabar . 2023-06-11 . WAtoday . en.
  2. News: Parker . Gareth . A business paying the price of success . 20 January 2020 . PerthNow . 5 November 2018 . https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20200120021135/https://www.perthnow.com.au/opinion/gareth-parker/gareth-parker-picabar-a-business-paying-the-price-of-success-ng-b881010670z . 20 January 2020 . live .
  3. Web site: Matheson . Elise . 2001 . Picabar has been saved at last . https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20210403111620/https://scoop.com.au/picabar-saved/?region=western-australia . 3 April 2021 . 20 January 2020 . Scoop . live .
  4. Web site: Heritage Council of Western Australia . 24 March 2000 . Register of Heritage Places - Assessment Documentation: PICA & Arts House . 24 January 2020 . Government of Western Australia . 3 . PDF.
  5. Web site: Heritage Council of Western Australia . PICA & Arts House . 24 January 2020 . inHerit . Government of Western Australia . Other name(s): ... Perth Boys School.
  6. Buckley . Brian . Bowen . Melissa . Parker . Gareth . Successful Perth small business under threat . . Perth, Western Australia . 29 October 2018 . 20 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200120015201/https://www.6pr.com.au/podcast/successful-perth-small-business-under-threat/ . 20 January 2020 . live.
  7. News: . Northbridge small bar faces closure in lease wrangle . 20 January 2020 . The West Australian . 29 October 2018 . https://archive.today/20200120020421/https://thewest.com.au/business/small-business/northbridge-small-bar-picabar-faces-closure-in-state-government-lease-wrangle-ng-b881005301z . 20 January 2020 . live .
  8. Buckley . Brian . Wheeldon . Chris . Pica Bar Under Threat . . 1 November 2018 . 20 January 2020 . https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20210911102405/https://rtrfm.com.au/story/pica-bar-under-threat/ . 11 September 2021 . live .
  9. News: Jordan . Murray . Picabar signs five-year lease . 20 January 2020 . Business News . 15 October 2019 . https://archive.today/20200120022533/https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/Picabar-signs-five-year-lease . 20 January 2020 . live .
  10. News: Warriner . Jessica . Northbridge's Picabar facing closure after State Government lease battle . 20 January 2020 . Guardian Express . Community News Group . 29 October 2018 . https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20210403111619/https://www.communitynews.com.au/guardian-express/news/northbridges-picabar-facing-closure-after-state-government-lease-battle/ . 3 April 2021 . live .
  11. Web site: 14 October 2019 . PICA BAR #savedpicabar . live . https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20200120034751/http://xpressmag.com.au/pica-bar-savepicabar/ . 20 January 2020 . 20 January 2020 . X-Press Magazine .
  12. News: Prestipino . David . 14 October 2019 . People power saves Northbridge favourite Picabar as new lease signed . WAtoday . live . 20 January 2020 . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20191014134800/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/176495/20191015-0048/www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/people-power-saves-northbridge-favourite-picabar-as-new-lease-signed-20191014-p530m7.html . 14 October 2019.
  13. News: Prestipino . David . 15 October 2019 . Picabar shouts patrons after Perth Cultural Centre lease secured . WAtoday . live . 20 January 2020 . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20191015145100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/176495/20191016-0151/www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/picabar-shouts-patrons-after-perth-cultural-centre-lease-secured-20191014-p530nh.html . 15 October 2019.
  14. News: Delalande . Joanna . 15 October 2019 . New lease for popular Picabar a win for people power . The West Australian . live . 20 January 2020 . https://archive.today/20200120031153/https://thewest.com.au/business/small-business/new-lease-for-popular-picabar-at-northbridges-perth-cultural-centre-a-win-for-people-power-ng-b881352719z . 20 January 2020.
  15. News: Prestipino . David . 14 October 2019 . People power saves Northbridge favourite Picabar as new lease signed . Brisbane Times . live . 20 January 2020 . https://archive.today/20200120031551/https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/western-australia/people-power-saves-northbridge-favourite-picabar-as-new-lease-signed-20191014-p530m7.html . 20 January 2020.
  16. Web site: 2022-07-01 . Forget 'Dullsville': WA's top bars, pubs and breweries . 2023-06-11 . The West Australian . en.
  17. Web site: pica posting (@meet_me_at_pica) • Instagram photos and videos . 2023-06-11 . www.instagram.com . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Picabar".

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