Footscray Scores Second Hand Dealer, a Creative Cocktail Bar From a Pie Thief Founder

Footscray’s Pie Thief was an experimental shop that was known for Aussie pies with unconventional fillings such as ramen, lasagne and kaldereta (Filipino goat stew). But when it closed after five years in 2024 due to increased financial pressures, it left a zany-flavour void in Footscray.

Co-owner Aaron Donato also previously ran next-door cocktail bar Trouble in Dreams with Chad Parkhill until it closed in 2023. When Donato closed Pie Thief, he knew he wanted to keep the space alive, so he renewed the lease (which included the former Trouble in Dreams space) without a long-term plan. Now he’s opened Second Hand Dealer in the former Trouble in Dreams space – a cocktail bar that combines his two former businesses. “[At Pie Thief], I’d come in each week and ask myself, ‘What’s a delicious meal that I can turn into a pie?’ Now I’m just applying that ethos to cocktails,” Donato says.

Inside, you’ll find a dimly lit space with antique paintings and sculptures on the walls (Donato is a hobby art collector), some new wooden booths and a reorientation of the bar. The name was taken from an old window decal from the building’s previous life as a pawnbroker.

But the real drawcard is the inventive drinks menu. Donato is constantly experimenting with recipes to find what meals can be translated into cocktails. The signature drink is a Banh Mi Martini – a wild flavour combination of roast pork, pâté, butter, carrot, cucumber and coriander with gin, vodka and vermouth. A lot of experimentation was required to get the drink to work. “The first few attempts were basically undrinkable,” Donato says. “I kept tweaking the recipe and what we serve now is probably version 15. It’s a bit wild but I absolutely love it.”

To make the drink, pork skins are roasted and liquid pork fat is removed and added to a jar of vodka. The fat and vodka mix is agitated every few hours at room temperature before it’s refrigerated overnight and filtered until clear. A similar agitation and filtration process is followed with pâté and vodka. Melted butter is then added to vermouth, stuck in the freezer to allow the fat to solidify, and then strained. Two types of cucumber liqueur are added. “One was too dry, one was too sweet, so we combined both to find the middle ground,” Donato says – as well as lemongrass gin. Finally, the cocktail is topped with a drop of coriander oil and garnished with pickled carrot.

Donato has been surprised by the reception to the signature cocktails so far. “Part of me was worried that people might try a more experimental drink, have half and never come back,” he says. “But it’s been the opposite – people have been really receptive to what we’re doing and they’re really surprised by how well something like a banh mi can translate [to a drink].”

Other inventive cocktails include the Nighttime Coco Pops (a whisky, macadamia and coffee liqueur punch with clarified milk), as well as Pandas of the Caribbean (a punchy combination of pandan, dark rum, falernum, lime and banana). 

If you’re not feeling adventurous, the rest of the drinks menu is rounded out by classic cocktails, a couple of spritzes and a Rattenhund pilsner from Hop Nation. 

Donato wants Second Hand Dealer to continue dishing up surprises. There’s pho-inspired cocktails on the horizon, a cherry custard sour and “some serious ramen research and development” all slated for the next few months.

“I even had a miso soup situation brewing that smelled incredible but was far too salty to serve,” Donato says. “I’ll keep experimenting, find what works and let people decide if they’re into it.”

Second Hand Dealer
297 Barkly Street, Footscray
No phone

Hours:
Wed to Sun 5pm–1am

www.secondhanddealerbar.com.au
@secondhanddealerbar