Pumphouse, Lion and Mr Black have partnered with Sydney City Council to produce a month of rollerblading-themed food, drink and festivities.
Pumphouse has been chosen to provide all the food and beverage options during Darling Harbour’s month-long celebration of retro-rolling. Venue manager, David Green, was on-hand to give Bars & Clubs the inside track on the event.
“The Rollerama itself is an outdoor skating rink installed under the overpass of Darling Square,” David explained.
“There’ll be two rinks: one for small children and families, and one for adults and dates.”
Tickets for adults are $25, including skate hire, while mini rollers (kids aged two to 12) can skate for $20. Customers are also welcome to strap on their own lockdown blades of glory, for a $5 discount.
“They’re also going to be putting on Roller Derby shows throughout the course of the month, and have live DJs playing a mix of House music to like, 80s Classics.”
David also explained Pumphouse’s F&B offering, including pop-up bars and an exclusive beer.
“Pumphouse has been asked to cater for the event’s entire food and beverage offering, and we’ve got an outdoor area with three different bars,” David says.
One of these bars is an eye-catch eight-metre long silver airstream trailer, which will be serving up Espresso Martinis on tap from Mr. Black.
At the other end of the space is a bar from non-alcoholic specialists, Lyre’s, providing zero per cent cocktail and RTD options for skaters.
“Then we have our giant bar, which will be serving up our ‘homemade’ beer as well as some from Lion Nathan,” David says. These include brews from Furphy, Panhead and Byron Bay.
Riverdale Brewery has produced a special beer exclusively for Pumphouse. Named Thunderbolt Strong Ale, the beer takes its title from Captain Thunderbolt, also known as Frederick Wordsworth Ward, a bushranger known for his escape from Cockatoo Island and long period of survival in the bush. The amber ale itself weighs in at seven per cent.
“On top of all this, we’ll be having carnival games in the eating area, and roller-skating wait staff providing table service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.”
For the event, Pumphouse has developed a separate food menu especially for the event, inspired by American food of the 1950s to 70s, with brisket burgers, up-market hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly thickshakes.
Indoors, Pumphouse will continue to serve up its own menu of elevated pub classics, and pouring from its bespoke wine list.
“So you can go outside, have a Mr. Black cocktail, and then come inside, have a different atmosphere with different offerings, and even sit down for a full blown meal if you want,” David adds.
Pumphouse will be complementing the outdoor entertainment with its own live bands and DJs inside the venue.
Rollerama follows upon the Pumphouse’s $5 million refurbishment, completed last year, which David says transformed the venue from an old school rock and roll pub to a “high-end bar and restaurant.”
Rollerama runs from March 25 to April 24, with ‘Cheapskate Tuesdays’ offering 25 per cent off every Tuesday and fancy-dress competitions every Thursday. Tickets are available here.
Pumphouse will be open from 12 til 10pm every night during Rollerama.
