When Brunswick East’s Bar Romantica opened in March 2018, it was common for the venue to be pouring drinks until 6am. “That took a lot out of us, and then Covid happened and really changed the business model,” co-owner Henry Crawford tells Broadsheet, describing the period when the late-night bar successfully transformed into more of a restaurant concept.

But after nearly seven years, the venue’s five owners – Crawford, Oscar Hermann, Monty Mullooly-Hill, Ravi Thompson and William Howard – have decided it’s time to close.

Like your favourite band splitting up to work on solo projects, the owners all plan to focus on their other ventures when Bar Romantica closes at a yet-to-be-determined date in March next year. Crawford is part of the team behind Carlton restaurant Bistra, Hermann’s business Oscar Hermann’ Wines is growing, Mullooly-Hill will focus on Milney’s and Monty’s, which is co-owns with Thompson and Hermann, and Howard on his furniture company Billy Furniture.

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It’s the end of an era for the venue, which was previously home to 24-hour diner Cafe Romantica for over 30 years. “We were really drawn to this incredible opportunity at a site that had this very rich history,” Crawford says of what initially drew the team to the space. While they’re not selling the business, the building is up for lease.

“This is not necessarily a decision forced upon us because of any financial or economic situation. This is certainly us deciding that the time is now.” Though Crawford concedes that hospo is doing it tough at the moment, adding, “This year has certainly felt very different to other years.”

The team plans to host events with past collaborators early next year and “get the last little use out of the 24-hour liquor license – we haven’t really utilized that in recent times.”