Nine years after opening in Victoria Park, Belgian and craft beer mecca Dutch Trading Co will close.
That’s the bad news. The good news is co-owner Joel Beresford has hinted his team will “do something different” in the space.
“After nine years, our lease was coming up and we had to fight really hard to extend it,” he told The Crafty Pint.
“We knew DTC could continue indefinitely, but was that what we wanted?
“That fact that we asked the question gave us the answer.”
Since June 2015, the award-winning bar has been renowned for envelope-pushing collaborations with top breweries and annual celebrations such as Cantillon’s Zwanze Day, as well as being one of the best places to buy a lambic brew.
Bar & Bites’ favourite DTC collab was Oaklore, a bourbon barrel-aged barley wine made with Mindarie’s Indian Ocean Brewing in 2019.
A co-owner of Fallow Liquor and Eatery, which recently opened in Northbridge, Beresford is rightly proud of the DTC legacy.
Wallets are being kept in the pocket more often than not.
“I like to think the main thing we did was show what the calibre of craft beer scene could be in terms of passion, produce and education,” he said.
“Plus, I like to think I made a lot of people drink lambic, whether they wanted to or not.”
The closure of DTC comes at a time when craft breweries are struggling — some folding, and some going into administration or enduring a financial restructure.
Beresford said drinkers had to support small businesses or they would not survive in this “unpredictable” market.
“Wallets are being kept in the pocket more often than not,” he said.
“It’s just not a brand. Our industry relies on each segment and it goes full-circle — brewery, brewpub, bar, bottle shop — they are all contributing to the richness and lifeblood of the industry and community.”
Beresford said the venue would undergo a “full refit and complete makeover, including the name” before reopening with an expanded focus on wine and cocktails.
The last chance to sip a lambic at DTC is August 10.