Team behind Paddy’s Markets revamp vows project won’t be just another food court

The team behind the multimillion-dollar makeover of Paddy’s Markets in Haymarket has revealed key details about the project, insisting the venture will be an accessible and affordable mixed food market when it opens in January.

Construction begins next week at the historic market after Sydney Markets Limited won a bitter battle in the NSW Supreme Court with “standholders”, who have been forced to relocate internally to make way for it.

With that final hurdle to the project cleared, Doltone Hospitality Group, which is spearheading the food precinct, has revealed that fresh food shopping will be central to the development. A butcher, grocer, deli, fishmonger and cheese stall will be among the 47 new outlets. “There’ll also be tons of spices [for sale],” Doltone’s head of strategic growth and concepts, Peter Melick, says.

‘We want to cater for everyone, [you’ll also] be able to grab a margarita and a lobster roll.’

These will open alongside eat-in and takeaway venues offering everything from Cypriot barbecue to “tin can” beverages from a themed bar. Melick says affordability is a cornerstone of the project, and it will be a site where Sydneysiders can get pizza by the slice, sit at a dumpling bar, chow on Lebanese street food or take a seat at an Italian sandwich bar.

The mix is crucial to a successful market, Melick says, and Doltone has studied Adelaide Central Market and Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market, as well as markets in the United States. “Our managing director, Joseph Murray, did a lot of research on European markets,” Melick says.

“It’s a market, we didn’t want to go into food court mode. It has to be flexible, so you’ll be able to eat at our pasta bar, but also buy pasta sauce to take away.”

Melick says the project will include a large hawker section, including Asian food. “We want to cater for everyone, [you’ll also] be able to grab a margarita and a lobster roll,” he says. A tie-in with a yet-to-be-disclosed chef is also in the works.

The Haymarket market dates back to the 1800s, with its food lineage diluted by the relocation of wholesale fruit and vegetable operations to Flemington in 1975. Once the epicentre of Sydney fresh produce, it has experienced a steady increase in bric-a-brac and speciality traders, although some food operators remain.

Melick declined to discuss the cost of the interior fitout, designed by Loop Creative, which is believed to be around $12 million. He says the site’s history played a part in the design brief.

“We wanted it to be a homage to what happened there in the past. Originally, we wanted to capture the 1950s, with Lebanese, Italian and Greek immigration. But its history goes so much further back, and its location [next to Chinatown]. It’s also important we capture what’s happening right now in Sydney,” he says.