Merivale has swung open the doors to a new venue in Sydney CBD called JAM Record Bar. The launch comes just days before the hospitality giant’s highly anticipated Good Luck Restaurant Lounge debuting down the road on Bridge Street.

Positioned on George Street, the ‘little yet loud bar’ houses a collection of 15,000 vinyl records alongside a menu of Japanese-inspired snacks by sushi e Head Chef, Michael Fox and cocktails by Merivale’s Creative Cocktail Lead, James Irvine.

Interiors nod to the listening bars of Tokyo but with a twist, a ‘surround sound’ experience of 100% pink plywood, cork and ‘Pink Batt’ insulation is designed to create the feeling of sitting inside a giant speaker box.

The menu features Japanese sandos, skewers and spring rolls seasoned with ingredients from furikake to yuzu, while the cocktail list goes big on the Highball, Old-Fashioned and Margarita.

There is sake, of course, as well as fizz, pink, red, white, and orange wines, from here and abroad.

Take a look inside …

Merivale’s Head of Music and Entertainment, Nick van Tiel, curated the vast vinyl collection to spin on a custom vintage JBL sound system, with the JAM team picking their favourite records to create a unique music experience each day.

A passion project for Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes and sister Bettina (above), JAM Record Bar is named after their parents and Sydney hospitality pioneers, John and Merivale.

JAM was conceptualised by Justin and designed by Akin Atelier alongside Bettina and Merivale’s in-house design and styling team.

After founding ‘Merivale’ in the ‘50s, John and Merivale launched JAM Jeans, opened the clothing store JAM Shop, and released their own record titled JAM. The family legacy continued when Justin started JAM Recordings in 2003, a music label which founded the Good Vibrations music festival, which toured nationally until 2012.