23 July, 2015

First Recipient Of Rundle Mall Innovation Fund To Open Its Doors

The balcony at the Rundle Mall end of the upper level of Adelaide Arcade will be in use for the first time in 80 years when Two Bit Villains opens the doors of their new restaurant on Friday 24 July from 7pm.

The first recipient of City of Adelaide’s Rundle Mall Innovation Fund, Adelaide Arcade successfully applied for funding to redevelop the Rundle Mall end of level one of the Arcade, including reinstating the balcony.

The Arcade then selected Two Bit Villains, a vintage-inspired soda bar currently in a smaller space upstairs in the Arcade, as their tenant.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese said this was part of continuing work to bring life and activity to some of the unused upper level spaces in the Mall.

“We’re very pleased to announce Adelaide Arcade and their tenant Two Bit Villains as the first recipient of funding from the Rundle Mall Innovation Fund.

“The Adelaide Arcade balcony hasn’t been used in 80 years and this will add life and activity, day and night, to a previously underused space in this stunning arcade.

“The idea of the fund is to provide opportunity for Council to work with traders and building owners to co-fund initiatives that enliven Rundle Mall’s laneways, upper-storeys, and underutilised buildings as well as stimulating activity in the precinct outside of traditional shopping hours.

“There’s a great deal of work and investment going on in and around - and above - the Mall to ensure it maintains its place as Adelaide’s premier shopping destination and meeting place.”

Adelaide Arcade manager Andrew Jonats said that, “Dining on the Adelaide Arcade balcony in the heart of Adelaide will be a great experience of combining the past, the present and more importantly the future of retail in Rundle Mall.

“The use of this space, and particularly at night, would not have happened without City of Adelaide’s innovative funding and their fantastic staff.

“New experiences continue to unfold in the Rundle Mall precinct and in Adelaide Arcade, revealing more reasons to spend time in the city of Adelaide. I can’t wait to see people enjoying themselves at night in Adelaide Arcade.”

Ian Darbyshire, Rundle Mall Management Authority Chief Executive Officer said, “The Rundle Mall precinct is full of interesting and underutilised spaces, especially in the upper stories of large buildings and in basement locations”.

“The Rundle Mall Management Authority is excited to support the upper story activation of Adelaide Arcade and the introduction of an exciting early evening activation.”

Two Bit Villains owners Sass Ryan and Liam Hughes are looking forward to having such a beautiful space to create a unique experience for their diners - especially with their award-winning burgers and hand-crafted botanical sodas.
"We're ever grateful to both Adelaide Arcade and City of Adelaide for seeing the potential that this space has, and for collaborating with us to achieve such an exciting outcome.

“We're looking forward to leading the charge for a better kind of nightlife for Rundle Mall. This is going to be great!"

The Rundle Mall redevelopment is one of the Council’s largest ever capital investments. There has been around half a billion dollars of private investment in the Mall since the start of the project, including new international and local retailers as well as improvements by existing retailers and exciting changes in connecting laneways.

Paula Stevens