The Hamlet: an urban village in the heart of Braddon

Posted on 17 November, 2014

Braddon has undergone a startling transformation in recent years. There were always pockets of cool, like the awesome Hive Gallery and Knightsbridge Penthouse, but then Lonsdale Street Roasters moved in, and Italian and Sons, and the Lonsdale Street Traders, and then it seemed like a new place to eat was opening every single week. And with the eateries came people. Lots of them. They breathed life into a suburb that was once car yards and panel beaters.

But the news that the Traders was to be demolished, with many of the retailers moving across the road into the schmicko new residential complex ORI – or just shutting up shop – was met with sadness from many. They worried that the indie vibe that has come to define the Braddon culture would be lost with a move to more permanent premises. They needn’t have worried.

True to form, passionate Braddon entrepreneur and property developer, Nik Bulum, is hard at work on another creation that’s pushing the boundaries. This time, it’s The Hamlet – a village within a hip city fringe – that will provide some permanency for Canberra’s street food vendors and a selection of local makers.

Joelle Brodbeck, Nik Bulum and Owen Saddler

“There’ll be small and boutique farmers markets with fresh produce and pies; night markets; lots of food vans; and a permanent street pizza vendor,” says Nik.

“Morning and night there’ll be lots of interesting things happening here, seven days a week. We wanted to offer an extension to the apartments –you can come down, sit down in the communal seating, stay here all day basically and sample different foods and desserts. And there’s shops as well – that’s why it’s called it ‘The Hamlet’ – I wanted to create a little village.”

Fans of Dream Cuisine, BrodDogs, Nookie Espresso, Mr Papa, Spit Shack, and The Brathaus are sure to be beating a path to The Hamlet’s door, and there are rumours of a jaffle bar and cocktails in a new home on wheels for April’s Caravan.

After a three-month stint at Westfield Belconnen, Joelle and Sascha Brodbeck will bring their BrodDogs to The Hamlet, and are excited about the links to Braddon’s great tradition of following a big night out with some processed meat on a bun with some sauce.

“The Doghouse was a part of Braddon’s history,’ says Joelle. “I remember lining up for hot dogs – that culture of Braddon kinda disappeared a bit and I want to bring it back a bit.

Joelle Brodbeck with the BrodDog van.

The ‘free reign’ that Bulum is providing is also a welcome relief for Joelle and Sascha, after their much-publicised stoush with the National Capital Authority over their original red caravan by Lake Burley Griffin.

“It always feels like wherever we go someone’s on top of us, telling us ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that’ but Nik’s like ‘do whatever you want’ and I’m like ‘really?’”

A surprising entry to the street food line up is Dream Cuisine, who will be bringing their sweet delights to the venue. Co-Owner Owen Saddler says, “we’ll be doing things we can serve at room temperature – macarons and pastries using fruit from the local Farmers’ Markets – but we want to take them to the next level.”

“[The Hamlet] is really fun because it attracts a whole heap of different customers. You can throw some crazy ideas out there which is what we hope to do – I’ve got quite a few up my sleeve that I really want to start working on,” says Owen.

“What’s really fun about this site is it’s still the old Braddon – in the blink of an eye, Braddon went from being grungy to uber funky and now it’s kinda gone dull again, but with something like this…” Well, enough said.

The former Beaurepaires depot is being transformed into an urban village.

The converted garage will house jewellery makers, fashion and industrial designers, and furniture makers as well as providing a free exhibition space for up-and-coming artists and regular live music. As was the case with the Lonsdale Street Traders, it’s a pop-up space with a shelf life of three years. And it’s affordable, offering start-ups a chance to get a foothold.

“They can trial the areas. They can have three months. They can leave. The rents are really cheap again so that they can make money and establish themselves,” says Nik.

“Sweet Bones is a prime example of that, and all the traders that are moving into ORI. I wanted The Hamlet to be more makers so that they can get some cash flow and grow their fan base so that they can move on to something permanent.

The outside street food area of The Hamlet is set to open in about three weeks, with the inside space scheduled for late December/early January – good news for those who stay in Canberra over the Christmas break.

“The nice thing about this little environment, which I experienced at the Traders, is when you work with a group of people, it’s fun. You bounce off each other and each feeds off each others customer base – it becomes like a little tv series and people interact and customers laugh. You can be a bit free and fun and everyone’s personality will come out – and they’re all a little bit mad.”

the essentials

What: The Hamlet
Where: 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon
When: Outdoor areas opens Wednesday 10 December. Inside spaces early 2015.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hamlet