Big Cohiba

Siglo:

Level 2, 161 Spring St, Melbourne
(03) 9654 6300

The Melbourne Supper Club has been a late-night quaffing institution going on 10 years now. It’s Con Christopoulos’ baby, and the sibling to The European — the adjacent bistro he established around the same time. Since those formative days he’s taken on the tenancy of the neighbouring title and added the City Wine Shop retail shop and wine bar. With over 1300 wines on the Melbourne Supper Club list, Christopoulos figured it a natural move to offer the same selection off license.

When the smoking laws came into effect, Christopoulos needed an outdoor space. Like just about every publican worth their salt he stuck his head through the roof to see what options there might be. The vistas were enticing — a late Victorian mural adorning the side of the Princess Theatre and the monolithic splendour of State Parliament over the road. From there it was a case of convincing the two landlords of both sites to agree to the building of one rooftop venue. venue visited Siglo to chat with the General Manager of the four venues, Rufino Ramos.

venue: How was Siglo like to build?

Rufino Ramos: It took quite a while to construct. It was a complicated job because the building is over two separate titles and we didn’t close for trading for one single day. It was a very hard year because every day builders would come and make a total mess of the Supper Club and at 4pm or 3:30 we’d have to clean up and start getting everything ready for service at five. We were hoping to open up in October, but delays held us back. Even though it’s cold, we’ve provided heaters and awnings so it’s quite cosy up here, especially if you’re near a heater.

venue: Access to Siglo is via the Super Club — is it essentially the same offering?

RR: The Siglo product mix is a little different to the Supper Club. We offer table service or bar service so people can get their own drinks. Ever since we opened the Supper Club, people wanted a cash bar, but we always had just table service, which meant we only had one tab per table. And we tend to have larger groups in Siglo; downstairs we don’t tend to take anything larger than eight, whereas up here we can accommodate bigger groups, say 20 or more.

venue: Would you consider Siglo to complete the Christopoulos Spring Street enclave?

RR: Even though we all run under one umbrella, and we share some resources, we try and keep the venues separate, so they have their own identity, product mix and style of service. Siglo is a destination. You could come and spend just about 24 hours here if you like — we open at 7am in the Wine Shop, and Siglo closes 6am on a Saturday morning.

Sucks the Big Cohiba

venue: Does this space mean you’re taking smoking more seriously?

RR: It means we’re supplying a much bigger range of cigars. Downstairs we didn’t have the space for a big humidor — now we do. We’ve always carried about 12 lines of cigars. Whereas with the humidors we’re building we’ll probably carry 70 to 90 lines of cigars. Obviously we’ve always kept our cigars in properly maintained humidors, but we now have a more professional housing for them. It will give people a uniquely wide range.

venue: How important was it to establish an outdoor area?

RR: We’ve always provided smoking and non smoking, so we see this as an extension of that. We had a tearoom next to the Supper Club — which we now use for functions — that used to be a non-smoking space. I think most people now would seriously consider the pros and cons before taking on a venue that didn’t allow them the ability to build a space outside for smokers.

venue: How has Siglo changed the Supper Club?

RR: I think the addition has been a most welcome one, especially for the non-smokers in the Supper Club. Because the Supper Club is a lot about wine — and many people see it as a wine-drinking destination — they’re quite glad to not have the smoke. It’s a much cleaner space. It means that the smokers can come up here and they can still enjoy wine, but the people that used to come here for a serious bottle of wine can really focus.

The Melbourne Supper Club has been a late-night quaffing institution going on 10 years now. It’s Con Christopoulos’ baby, and the sibling to The European — the adjacent bistro he established around the same time. Since those formative days he’s taken on the tenancy of the neighbouring title and added the City Wine Shop retail shop and wine bar. With over 1300 wines on the Melbourne Supper Club list, Christopoulos figured it a natural move to offer the same selection off license.When the smoking laws came into effect, Christopoulos needed an outdoor space. Like just about every publican worth their salt he stuck his head through the roof to see what options there might be. The vistas were enticing — a late Victorian mural adorning the side of the Princess Theatre and the monolithic splendour of State Parliament over the road. From there it was a case of convincing the two landlords of both sites to agree to the building of one rooftop venue. venue visited Siglo to chat with the General Manager of the four venues, Rufino Ramos.

venue: How was Siglo like to build?

Rufino Ramos: It took quite a while to construct. It was a complicated job because the building is over two separate titles and we didn’t close for trading for one single day. It was a very hard year because every day builders would come and make a total mess of the Supper Club and at 4pm or 3:30 we’d have to clean up and start getting everything ready for service at five. We were hoping to open up in October, but delays held us back. Even though it’s cold, we’ve provided heaters and awnings so it’s quite cosy up here, especially if you’re near a heater.

venue: Access to Siglo is via the Super Club — is it essentially the same offering?

RR: The Siglo product mix is a little different to the Supper Club. We offer table service or bar service so people can get their own drinks. Ever since we opened the Supper Club, people wanted a cash bar, but we always had just table service, which meant we only had one tab per table. And we tend to have larger groups in Siglo; downstairs we don’t tend to take anything larger than eight, whereas up here we can accommodate bigger groups, say 20 or more.

venue: Would you consider Siglo to complete the Christopoulos Spring Street enclave?

RR: Even though we all run under one umbrella, and we share some resources, we try and keep the venues separate, so they have their own identity, product mix and style of service. Siglo is a destination. You could come and spend just about 24 hours here if you like — we open at 7am in the Wine Shop, and Siglo closes 6am on a Saturday morning.Sucks the Big Cohiba

venue: Does this space mean you’re taking smoking more seriously?

RR: It means we’re supplying a much bigger range of cigars. Downstairs we didn’t have the space for a big humidor — now we do. We’ve always carried about 12 lines of cigars. Whereas with the humidors we’re building we’ll probably carry 70 to 90 lines of cigars. Obviously we’ve always kept our cigars in properly maintained humidors, but we now have a more professional housing for them. It will give people a uniquely wide range.

venue: How important was it to establish an outdoor area?

RR: We’ve always provided smoking and non smoking, so we see this as an extension of that. We had a tearoom next to the Supper Club — which we now use for functions — that used to be a non-smoking space. I think most people now would seriously consider the pros and cons before taking on a venue that didn’t allow them the ability to build a space outside for smokers.venue: How has Siglo changed the Supper Club?RR: I think the addition has been a most welcome one, especially for the non-smokers in the Supper Club. Because the Supper Club is a lot about wine — and many people see it as a wine-drinking destination — they’re quite glad to not have the smoke. It’s a much cleaner space. It means that the smokers can come up here and they can still enjoy wine, but the people that used to come here for a serious bottle of wine can really focus.

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