5 Beekman is the name of a New York-themed cocktail bar making a splash in Wollongong.
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Taking cues from a famous art deco building in Manhattan the bar's interior styling was done by local business Birdblack Design.
Steelers Club general manager Sharon Arrow said the club used lockdown to shake things up by heralding in a new era that will change the food and small bar experience in Wollongong.
Ms Arrow said while the official launch won't be until February the new bar is already open and trading from 5pm to late from Thursday to Sunday.
She said 5 Beekman has already created one new role for a cocktail bar supervisor "and as business grows we are anticipating there will be up to another three jobs".
"We are constantly engaging new casuals and training them, so when we are in full flight the new cocktail bar will probably keep four new people employed."
Ms Arrow said the idea was born form wanting to offer more to patrons. But not being a large club the Steelers Club didn't have a lot of spaces.
"We realised we had to capitalise on every square metre. The biggest challenge we had was trying to find a nice lounge for people to have a drink, a chat and meet friends without having screens in their faces," she said.
"We wanted to have a little oasis that people could go to for a drink and just feel like they were in a small bar."
Ms Arrow said 5 Beekman is ideal for people who want to come in and have a cocktail before they go to an event or show. Or for a few drinks after work.
"We had a kids play area that was extremely under-utilised so we decided we would turn that area into a very nice bar with beautiful ambience, nice furnishing and some good music with a live artist on Sundays," she said.
"To make it different we decided we would trying bringing a little touch of New York to Wollongong.
"We found this building in Manhatten called 5 Beekman which was an old art deco style building that in 2014 was renovated back to its former glory.
"It has an atrium bar that just looks beautiful so we thought if we took concepts from that, including the green velvet with bronze trim, people would be able to resonate with it and the Big Apple.
"And we have a beautiful decal of the New York skyline on the Harbour Street window in an attempt to replicate the city that never sleeps as much as possible."
Ms Arrow said 5 Beekman also has a very different bespoke menu to match the cocktails and spirits that have been handpicked for the space including spirits from Headlands Distillery.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
