Like with homes, you can tell if a bar’s been designed by a couple or by a company.
Sweet Nectar Inn is such a place, with the small bar, bottleshop and pantry in Coburg being completely the creation of Devon Hunter and Sam O’Farrell.
The couple opened the space just south of Bell Street, last week, a little more than nine months after they took over the lease, and as soon as you step foot inside, you're greeted to unique furnishings, reclaimed hardwood and the smiling face of either Devon or Sam - or more likely both.
“We were here every day on the tools,” Devon says. "Alongside our carpenter who was holding our hand the whole way.”
“It was a serious journey but we’re really happy that we were able to do it in such a way that made it so personal and unique. We wouldn’t have it any other way really.”
In particular, the personal touch comes courtesy of Sam’s experience as a ceramist. The artist made each of the bar's tiles and hand-painted the designs, including motifs with particular meaning to the pair. Look around and you'll see Sam's light fittings hanging from the roof or dimly lighting the walls.
“It really adds that personal touch and makes it one-of-a-kind,” Devon says.
On the drinks front, for the time being, you will find a sole beer tap alongside a selection of wine, while the fridges are well-stacked with a broad mix of both beer and wine to either drink in or take home. The drinks side of the business speaks a little more to Devon’s background, with the Californian having grown up surrounded by craft breweries around California. As a student, he worked in several breweries, bars, and restaurants like Lúpulo Craft Beer House in Santa Cruz.
“That was a craft beer café with a bit of a Carwyn vibe; a bar and bottleshop that would do big stuff like Cantillon Day,” Devon says.
After meeting Sam, who was visiting California for an artist residency, Devon made his way to Australia in 2018 for a working holiday and has worked in various hospitality joints. Most recently, he's been in sales for Molly Rose and behind the bar at Miss Moses, while he and Sam were spending their days building Sweet Nectar Inn.
For the couple, opening their own space has long been a dream, and in particular, they wanted to build a place serving excellent beer and wine in an area of Melbourne that was missing out.
“It was always what we wanted to do and it was a really specific vision that relied on the right neighbourhood and the right place,” Devon says.
Fortunately, they've found the right locale on the northern edge of Nicholson Street at the end of the Route 1 tram line. Sure, it might still be in Melbourne's craft beer-soaked inner north, but the quiet corner has just a café and a pizza place nearby.
Naturally, the couple felt the surrounding houses were in dire need of a place where people could stop in for a beer on the way home and grab a four-pack and a pizza on their way out
“What we wanted was a community hub where people come in and meet their neighbours,” Devon says.
A little more than a week on from opening, it’s pretty clear the location was the right call, with those neighbours quick to fill the small space after spending months walking by as Devon and Sam turned their dream into a reality.
“It’s been such an awesome reception from the community; everyone coming in and saying that it was exactly what the neighbourhood needed,” Devon says. “It’s been so heartwarming; we’ve had people come in who have lived here for 30 years and said they’re really grateful.”
To find out more, Devon joined us for our Beer Slingers series to learn more about the sweet nectar pouring from Sweet Nectar Inn.
Devon Hunter & Sam O’Farrell
What are your backgrounds?
Devon has a background in hospitality and craft beer both in California and Melbourne, working for microbreweries, beer cafe’s, cocktail bars and most recently in sales for Molly Rose Brewing. Sam is a ceramicist and worked mostly in retail.
What first got you into craft beer?
Devon grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where a lot of the first wave of craft beer started so it was always a part of our culture.
I think the first sip of beer I had was my dad’s Sierra Nevada Pale.
What inspired you to open your venue?
Melbourne has so many little micro-communities and we all just want somewhere laid back we can walk to from our house. But we’ve been slowly moving further into the burbs and hence further away from quality places to have a drink or get decent takeaways so we decided to create the venue that we wished was in our neighbourhood.
We also wanted to have the pantry aspect so you can come in for a drink after work and leave with a few things to make dinner, a bottle of wine or beers to go along with it - think woodfired vac-sealed pizzas, dry pasta and sauces, cured meats, cheese, sourdough bread, garlic, onions.
The vision was sort of a hybrid of a milk bar and wine bar. We started looking for commercial leases in the area and found an old hair salon that seemed like a perfect skeleton and got to work.
What’s the story behind the name of the venue?
We wanted something that conveyed the style of service and what to expect and landed on Sweet Nectar Inn because it kind of just makes us feel cozy. We’re all about delicious nourishing booze; also it’s a bit of a soft pun that makes you giggle a little.
How would you describe the vibe of your venue?
The Inn takes inspiration from country general stores and laid-back American-style dive bar hospitality.
We love the idea of somewhere you can rock up on your own or with friends, sit at the bar and either chat with the bartender or the other patrons regardless of how familiar you are with each other, and over time it becomes a sort of second home where you know there will always be a friendly face to have a beer with and some interesting conversation.
The design is a combination of showcasing some beautiful Australian hardwood that our carpenter Madhu Takasaki had up his sleeve which we restored and Sam’s handmade ceramic pieces. Sam handmade and glazed over 350 tiles with hand-painted motifs that all hold special significance for us which we used as the bar top.
She also made the pendant lights that hang from the ceiling and the sconce lights along the walls. The end result is a highly personal and unique fit-out that is the result of doing everything by hand.
Is there anything you’ve learned along the way you wish you’d known earlier?
Mostly only related to the mountain of bureaucracy, but I think the only way we were able to get through the build was not knowing exactly all we had signed up for. If we had known then maybe we would have thought twice...
Have there been any standout moments in your time as a venue owner so far?
Seeing people come in for the first time and using the space as we had hoped, before we opened it was hard to shift the mentality from scrappy fit-out mode to actually thinking of it as the business we dreamed up but as soon as the space was filled with people it felt like we had always been there and it was beautiful.
What local breweries are impressing you most right now?
We are always satisfied with Love Shack’s beers, we have one tap and it’s their Draught, and it tastes damn good in our frozen schooners.
Other than that I like something funky from Sobremesa, Molly Rose Radlers are perfect for the hot afternoons and Meletos has been doing some really solid things recently, in particular the Italian Pilsner.
You’ve got three beers to turn a newcomer onto craft beer: what are they and why?
A solid full-bodied helles lager like Meletos or Molly Rose because it will “taste like beer” in a good way and get them to trust that craft isn’t all bacon ice cream milkshake IPAs.
Then something like Hargreaves Hill ESB because it is old school but still interesting.
And if they really trust me by then I’d hit them with something classy like a barrel fermented sour, ideally, Consecration from Russian River because it’s just a classic.
Call into Devon and Sam's cosy Sweet Nectar Inn by heading to 140 Nicholson Street, Coburg. You'll find it and hundreds of other good beer venues and breweries in the free Crafty Pint app. And you can check out other entries in The Beer Slingers series here.
Keep up to date with all things Sweet Nectar by following their Instagram.
Will Ziebell is a history graduate who knows more about The Wire than he does about beer. He was awarded the AIBA Best Media trophy in 2018 and in 2024; HBO have told him to please send his fan mail elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
Spending time living in the UK (and backpacking across Europe) when I was 21 certainly gave me a better understanding of the beer and different styles of the world. But I'd say it was a holiday to the High Country a little while later when lunch and a tasting paddle at Bridge Road Brewers created an obsession with Australian breweries and locally made beer.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
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Boatrocker's Miss Pinky: It's a raspberry-packed Berliner Weisse that neither looks or tastes the way many people conceive of beer.
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Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown: A luscious mix of chocolate and hazelnut that can appeal to the sweet tooth within us all.
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Stone & Wood Pacific Ale: As the father of my oldest friend once said to me: "It's the perfect refreshing pint that smells like they've loaded it with the God's herb."
The last beer you enjoyed:
Garage Project's DFA while sitting at the bar at Miss Moses as the sounds of The Rolling Stone drifting in the background.
Three things that represent you:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Ken Burns
- The State Library of Victoria
