[category]
[title]
Chapel St has had a bit of a fall from grace as the ‘go-to nightlife spot’ in recent years. As the number of cool new spots grows on the northside, the question is whether this once-iconic strip can reclaim its crown as Melbourne’s nightlife destination of choice. And it sure is trying! One of the venues putting in the hard yards to bring Chapel St back to its former glory is Lucky Coq… or should we say Lucky's?
Lucky Coq – a pizza bar and nightclub – had been a longstanding fixture on the corner of Chapel St and High St in Windsor for years before calling for last drinks and permanently closing its doors earlier this year in April.
For 20 years, partygoers would flock here for free entry, stick to the downstairs area for cheap eats and a singalong dancefloor, or head upstairs for techno beats. I don’t know about you, but some of my favourite memories of my early 20s were spent on the dance floor upstairs in the techno room and out in the smokers area – including convincing a stranger that another stranger's dog was in fact my own. In fact, what was a dog doing in there?
Since it closed, the corner of Chapel St and High St has felt awfully quiet. Thankfully, Morris Hospitality is giving the institution a comeback with a new name, and new look, but the same spirit. Lucky’s is set to open this spring as an all-in-one restaurant, bar and music destination. The philosophy is simple: come for a feed, stay for a drink and don’t go home without having a boogie to one of the live DJ sets.
“Melburnians know this corner and so many people have their own Lucky Coq story. It has been part of Chapel Street nightlife for almost 20 years, so we wanted to acknowledge that history without simply recreating it,” Morris Hospitality head of marketing and sales Grace Doman says.
This isn’t a nostalgia project – Morris Hospitality has made that clear.
“We want it to have the energy of a great night out, but also the familiarity and accessibility of a great local – somewhere you can come back to again and again,” Doman says.
While an exact launch date is yet to be announced, Lucky’s is scheduled to open in late spring. You can sign up to the ‘Lucky List’ to be the first to know when they launch.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.