[title]
Pour out your Pimms, another CBD institution is shutting its doors permanently due to the loss of CBD foot traffic.
Madame Brussels catered to those looking to wet their whistle for 15 long years and is sadly set to call last drinks on Sunday, July 25 after losing approximately 80 per cent of its business. We urge our audience to support CBD businesses more now than ever during this critical time; otherwise, we risk losing many more of our beloved venues.
The bar is set to honour all its existing bookings, but new enquiries will be accepted on a walk-in basis only.
Madame Brussels was, like many venues its late co-founder and Melbourne's bar scene pioneer Vernon Chalker weaved his magic in (including Gin Palace, Order of Melbourne, Bar Ampére and Collins Quarter), the bar provided an inner-city oasis in Melbourne's petite concrete jungle. The bar was also founded by designer Michael Anderson and Miss Pearls (aka Paula Scholes), who was recognised with a Legend Award at our 2020 bar awards and is the embodiment of the venue.
The bar pays tribute to its matriarch, the madam who was a 19th-century Melbourne brothel owner and entrepreneur who led a luxe and eccentric lifestyle. The madam set the tone for the venue, with flirty staff kitted out in preppy tennis-going outfits, tongue-in-cheek cocktails and an AstroTurf- and parasol-bedecked outdoor area. This summer will certainly be a little sadder without Miss Pearls heading the town's most playful bar.