What once used to be the East Ends go-to spot for all things tobacco has now been given a new lease on life, with the iconic Rundle Street Smokelovers set to transform to Adelaide’s latest daytime drinking spot this December.
Taking up shop in the bones of the Smokelovers tobacco specialty shop, the new bar – operating under the same moniker – will open just in time for Adelaide’s summertime months under the direction of Hamish Tregeagle.
Set to be a wine and cocktail bar, Smokelovers will open in the afternoon, serving and shaking drinks ‘til late seven days a week, gifting Adelaide the idyllic place to daytime drink before dancing late into the night. While details are yet to be announced, Smokelovers will pay homage to the tobacco institution not only through its name but its drinks and finer fittings.
On the menu will be a smoky Mezcal margarita to accompany the local produce small plates, fresh bread and olives, as well as other fine wines and classic mixes. Tregeagle also plans to expose the original timber archways of the old smoke shop, revealing the hidden beauty inside the Smokelovers storefront.
A veteran bartender himself, Tregeagle had noticed a daytime drinking gap in Adelaide’s East End market. So, when the iconic tobacco haven closed its doors after half a century of serving punters their durries and darts in 2019, the venture was too good to resist.
“I think the space coming up was a high impact. It is such a unique opportunity to open a bar in the east-end after working for a decade next door,” says Tregeagle.
For Tregeagle, opening a bar was an organic progression from his bartending days at next doors watering hole, The Exeter Hotel. He hopes that the new drinking joint will be the perfect place for Adelaidian’s to grab a cocktail before heading to the cinema or after stepping out of the office for an early knock on a Friday afternoon.
Although Smokelovers is sure to cement itself as the East Ends summertime watering hole, Tregeagle hopes that the wine and cocktail bar will garner an array of visitors all year round, making Rundle Street the place to be, come winter.
“I’d love to see a full range of people walk through the door,” says Tregeagle. “The dream would be to see my parents walk through the door for a glass of wine at 3pm, and then the venue gradually progress into a dance floor as the night goes on.”
You can keep up to date with Smokelovers on Instagram.
