Late one night, Broadsheet spied a neon lightbox glowing from within a vacant Frome Street shopfront. It simply read “Honeydripper”.
“We all have that one ultra-trendy friend who dresses better than us, drinks trendier drinks than us and listens to music we’ve never heard of,” Sean Howard, one of the venue’s backers, tells Broadsheet. “Honeydripper will be like you’re going to their house for a dinner party; it's a cool space, the wine is next level, and they're playing a handful of incredible records.”
The two-level, 200-capacity space – designed by Claire Markwick-Smith (Africola Canteen, Loc, Chicco Palms) – is shooting for a swooning, laid-back vibe plucked straight from LA’s Laurel Canyon, the epicentre of American music and counterculture in the ’60s and ’70s. In keeping with that era, two giant conversation pits, surrounded by a handful of booths and bar seating, will provide an intimate setting to chill with friends.
Honeydripper will also play host to a high-fidelity audio experience, part of a growing number of Australian bars leaning into Japan’s listening bar scene. The star of the show is a boutique, top-of-the-line sound system, pieced together by Lenin Paunovic, who also kitted out Sugar and Longplay Bistro among other venues. This will be backed by an in-house vinyl library stacked with more than 3000 records curated by Chicago DJ Gene Farris. During the build, Honeydripper will be broadcasting DJ sets recorded on-site, including features by locals DJ Lenin and DJ Mehdi, as well as special guests.
During the day Honeydripper, which is right around the corner from Adelaide Uni, will see Zac Schneider and the team from Carton Deli serving sangas and coffee in custom, retro-inspired crockery by Netherlands artist Emiel Hetsen to the AM crowd. (The booths will even have USB and power points if you want to bring your laptop.)
The team aspires to bring a missing piece to the city’s bar scene. Honeydripper is “quite intentionally very different from our other venues”, says Howard. “As we’ve matured, what we want from a night out has changed.” Expect a grown-up, sophisticated, late-night experience for people who want good music and a good drink without sweaty, heaving crowds.
Honeydripper hopes to open at 11 Frome Street, Adelaide later this year.
