After five summers, The Island Bar on Cockatoo Island has announced it’s packing up shop and will reopen in a new location next summer.
The Bar will serve its last drinks on Cockatoo Island on 29 February after owners Marco Faraone and Mike Edkins decided not to renew their lease with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.
“While we are sad to leave our home on Cockatoo Island, because of difficulties coming to an agreement with Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, we are pretty excited to reveal our next location, which will again provide Sydneysiders and visitors with a unique bar experience.”
The team will pack up their trademark shipping containers, pizza ovens, astro turf and beach-side style furniture and move it to “another equally iconic location” in time for next summer, by which time the owners will have announced the new location.
“When we opened The Island Bar, we were the first to bring the shipping container pop up concept to Sydney and make it a reality,” said Edkins. “Now, after five years of establishing the bar as one of the must-go destinations in Sydney for great drinks, food and good times right on the harbour, it’s time for something new.”
The Island Bar on Cockatoo Island has seen 350,000 visitors pass through its doors since opening in December 2010 and was last year named as one of Lonely Planet’s ‘Top 50 Bars in the World’.