A circa 150 year old Port Adelaide bank is getting a bold new chapter, with a 70s disco-inspired bar set to bring DJs, live music, laneway parties and micro weddings to Divett Street.
Love Bomb is preparing to open in the former Dock Wine Bar at 5 Divett Street, with owners Emily and Bella D’Amico giving the space a dramatic new look ahead of its opening weekend from Friday, October 23.
The couple have transformed the interior with deep red walls, low lighting, vintage furniture and a much larger bar, while retaining some of the building’s most intriguing history.
“A long time ago, probably pushing on 150 years ago, it used to be the bank vault,” Emily said.
“So behind us, where our prep station is for the bartenders, that used to be the vault.”
“You can actually tell from the outside. It’s got the original bank vault door right behind the bar, which is really, really cool. And it’s still got the alarm, the old big bell.”
The building was most recently home to The Dock Wine Bar, and while Love Bomb will bring a younger, more energetic feel to the site, the owners said they don’t want to lose the locals who have been coming to the venue for years.
“We still want to focus on having a place for the older crowd that has been loving the Dock wine bar to still come and enjoy it,” Emily said.
Love Bomb’s look will take inspiration from the 1970s, with the owners describing the finished venue as “a kind of 70s disco vintage vibe.”
“We’ve painted the whole venue a nice deep dark red, because we want it to be quite low-lighting, intimate vibes,” Emily said.
“We also have a massive beer garden and a laneway, so we will be doing a lot of functions, wanting to branch out to do micro weddings and stuff like that,” Emily said.
“We’ll have DJs and live music as well.”
With capacity for around 150 people, Emily said it is the perfect space to bring “new energy to the Port.”
“We’re wanting to do laneway parties, block parties and stuff like that as well,” she said.
The new owners are also giving the drinks list a serious shake-up, bringing experienced cocktail bartenders down from the city, using Bella’s 15-year plus industry connections.
“We’ve poached some of the great cocktail bartenders from the city to come down and work with us,” Emily said.
Food will follow a similarly casual-but-elevated approach.
“We’re going to be doing pizzas, oysters, focaccia, and little girl dinner plates, like cheese boards,” Emily said.
“We’re going to be doing arancini balls, nice shoestring fries with parmesan on top, burrata.”
“Quite simple, easy for us to make, but something for everyone. It’s just a bit more elevated than what was there before.”
There will also be a $49 Wednesday special featuring a bottle of house wine and a cheese-board-style sharing plate, alongside Sunday specials including $15 pizzas and $20 jugs.
For the cocktail menu, one of the signatures will be Gracie’s Love Potion, a sweet, love-themed drink made with gin, peach schnapps, white chocolate syrup, lemon juice, passionfruit pulp and apple.
The cocktail was created on the spot by one of the bartenders after Emily asked for something similar to a Pornstar Martini.
“She just made it up on the spot,” Emily said.
“I was like, oh my God, I haven’t tasted anything like this before, but it’s the best cocktail I’ve ever had in my life.”
Love Bomb will also be a nut-free venue, with gluten-free and dairy-free options planned across much of the menu, including pizzas.
And while the new venue will bring plenty of its own personality to Divett Street, the owners are planning to keep live music as part of the offering, with Friday nights set to feature 80s pop hits and other performances.
For Emily, the move into Port Adelaide is ultimately about creating a local alternative to heading into the CBD for a night out.
“Our goal is to make sure that people in the surrounding suburbs of Port Adelaide have a really good local that they can go to, where they don’t have to spend $60 on an Uber to get into the city but they’re still getting that same experience,” she said.
“People have been screaming out saying this is something they want.”
Love Bomb Cocktail Bar
When: Set to open from Friday, October 23
Where: 5 Divett Street, Port Adelaide.
To find out more, follow them on Instagram here.
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