First Look: Freda’s Returns To Chippendale With Big House Party Energy

A Sydney dance floor is an elusive thing. A good one, that is. While what makes a D-floor hot is subjective, the search comes up often enough that we know we’re not the only ones having trouble sniffing one out. Freda’s 3.0 solves the problem – and it opens in the old Lil Sis space in Chippendale tonight.

“Nobody likes to party more than us,” Carla Uriarte tells Broadsheet. She and her husband Dave Abram have just opened Bar Freda’s together with hospo group Solotel.

And the timing feels right.

“It feels like there is an energy in Sydney for late-night. And an energy in general,” Abram says. “The last time I felt like it was like this was pre-lockout laws. It felt like there was a bit of a bubbling happening: people moving back, creative energy around.”

Bar Freda’s sidles up to The Abercrombie, the 24-hour-licensed club where Uriarte and Abram are taking the lead on the music programming. “When you’re running a small business, even though you have key staff helping you, every decision still falls back on you,” Abram says. “[Solotel’s] level of professionalism is a huge benefit to us being able to focus on what we’re good at – which is creating a space and ambience and community. Obviously good food and drinks as well. It’s been a big shift and a big weight off the shoulders. I’m happy to let the bigger team deal with that stuff and really get our energy stuck into making a fun space for people.”

Back to their bar: the two-storey space is a charming trio of conjoined terraces. The Freda’s disco ball now spins in the stairwell, the neon red bar lighting now glows in the bay windows downstairs. “Just some things so it feels like Freda’s when you walk in.”

Upstairs there are three different vibes. In the middle room is a red-lit bar, where easy-drinking wines and Grifter beers join classic cocktails and a bunch of creative plays (think matcha-laced Pina Colada slushies). On one side is a dining room with funky banquettes and a small kitchen pumping out Euro snacks, like sunflower dip with crisps, zesty little Gildas and pickled veggies. The third space is where the dancing happens.

“We’ve totally transformed the other room into more open standing and stool-height space,” Abram says. “We’ve brought in our Danley sound system that we had made for the original Freda’s. It’s built around clarity, so even at high volumes you can still talk to people. That gives us the opportunity to feel more like a house party late at night.”

Groove here or scoot next door to The Abercrombie, to party in the club or on the rooftop. “We’re just trying to have something for everyone. And obviously, it’s a cliché, but it’s what we think is good music. The idea that you can turn up to a venue and you’re not being prescribed a sound, the DJs being booked can go in different directions – but they’re all going to bring good taste to what they play.”

Local DJs that the Freda’s team has supported for years will be on high rotation, along with a bunch of young guns new to the scene. Plus, with the larger venue and Solotel’s backing, the team now has the budget to book interstate and international artists.

“We’ve dedicated our professional lives to the nightlife industry. We’ve grown up a lot – how we engage is a bit more mature than maybe we used to. We’ve got a three-year-old, so late nights are juggled with early mornings. But we are just as passionate now as we [always have been]. We’re in an environment where we have a much better support structure around us. It’s a big undertaking, you know? Promoting late-night, booking late-night and getting people off their butts and off their phones. It’s trying to bring people together and create connectivity for like-minded people. We’re excited about getting back into it.”

Bar Freda’s
100 Broadway, Chippendale
(02) 8823 0555

Hours:
Tue to Thu 5pm–midnight
Fri & Sat 5pm–3am

abercrombie.sydney/bar-fredas
@bar_fredas