While we know all good things come to an end, there are some truly excellent things that seem to just keep on evolving. Case in point: Cafe Freda’s. The sunshine-yellow Oxford Street corner bar is perpetually heaving. If you snare a table outside – for natural wines, considered cocktails and a flurry of small plates – you hang onto it. But final service has been called – thankfully not till summer’s gone.

Dave Abram and his partner Carla Uriarte opened the space on New Year’s Eve in 2020, after closing their adored late-night Chippendale dance bar Freda’s after a nine-year run.

“We didn’t know how long [Cafe Freda’s] would be at this iconic location,” Abram said today, when announcing the closure on Instagram. “In truth, we signed a one year rolling lease understanding that at some stage in the future the site would be developed. We didn’t know if this would be two years or ten. It turns out it was four (and a bit).”

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“Cafe Freda’s was an evolution of where Carla and I were at in life, as well as a reflection of the realities of the Covid era. A casual eatery and bar. A community and social space. More sitting, less dancing, but still music at its centre.”

The buzz in the joint was palpable from the get-go. A string of talented chefs have captained the kitchen, the drinks are excellent and there are regular pop-ups (Danielle Alvarez was cooking last weekend), markets and kitchen takeovers with like-minded venues around town (think Baba’s Place, Bush, Fontana and Aplenty).

“It might be cliché to say our staff is more like our family, but it’s true,” the statement continues. “There is no Cafe Freda’s without our staff. Thank you to all our suppliers, you are the lifeblood of the industry, and it has been a pleasure to meet so many who are so passionate about what they do in spite of the trials and tribulations of life in hospitality in 2024.

“Thank you to Patrick Litschka our long term manager for being the anchor to our chaos.”

The news adds to 2024’s closures due to development, joining the Clam Bar team’s French diner Bistrot 916 and Big Poppa’s.

While Freda’s in its current state is a “love letter” to Oxford Street, Abram tells Broadsheet we won’t be Freda-less for long – another era is coming.

“[Oxford Street was] once the epicenter of Sydney nightlife, it had been ravaged by the devastating effects of the lock-out laws, and more recently the pandemic. A lot of younger people missed out on these golden years, but for myself in the early noughties it is where I came of age. Where I found myself and my tribe. Where I fell in love with nightlife, and where I first imagined having my own bar.

“To have been embraced so fully by the local community, old customers who’d followed us from Chippendale, and new customers who’d just discovered us exceeded all our hopes.”

Cafe Freda’s final service at 191–195 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, will be Saturday March 1, 2025.

@cafefredas