This April, the world’s first zero-waste cocktail bar and the 46th-ranked bar on the World’s Best Bars List, Re, will reopen at The Norfolk in Redfern.
The new iteration of Re will follow the same founding principles of its Eveleigh outpost, as industry heavyweight Matt Whiley and his team design, distil and serve bespoke zero-waste cocktails.
Its cocktail menu will redirect kitchen waste from across PUBLIC Hospitality’s more than 15 venues, which will decide the ingredients based on what is available. Whiley has already begun development on cocktails using waste from Maybe Sammy, Sammy Jnr, El Primo Sanchez, Busby’s, Ricos Tacos, Derrel’s, Lady Hampshire and Dean & Nancy on 22, and plans to develop a signature cocktail based on each.
The menu has been developed in collaboration with PUBLIC’s Creative Culinary Director, Clayton Wells, as Whiley and Wells experiment with ingredients of the cocktails and how the menu can intertwine with the food.
Founder of Re, Matt Whiley, is an award-winning bartender and pioneer for sustainable practice in bartending. As part of the new location for Re, Whiley will also oversee PUBLIC Hospitality’s waste management to reduce its impact and become more environmentally conscious.
“Bringing Re to Redfern at The Norfolk feels like the right move for the bar. We never want to stop being creative in our practice so finding this location energises us and gives us more opportunity for us to stretch into new material and work with new people,” said Whiley.
“It’s also great to help PUBLIC reduce their impact across their award-winning pubs, hotels and bars, as I believe this process of minimising waste is something we should be embracing across the industry.”
Development has started at the former site of La Salut, with an opening date to be announced soon. Interiors, the bar and kitchen will all be sustainably reimagined for Re. Its distillery equipment, repurposed furniture and materials, and cocktail testing space will all be accounted for.
PUBLIC Hospitality partners with industry leaders and innovators that understand the landscape of the future, and this is reflective in the acquisitions of brands such as Maybe Sammy and Ricos Tacos. Re at The Norfolk starts a mission within PUBLIC Hospitality to reduce its waste across the group and supports its entrepreneurial spirit as a newcomer in the industry.
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