Over the last few years Collingwood Yards has been working tirelessly to create a thriving creative hub on the site of the former Collingwood Technical School. Filling its rooms with independent artists, musicians, designers and makers, this massive not-for-profit social enterprise is quickly becoming the place to be.

At the same time, Pete Baxter has been growing Hope St Radio – a community-focused online radio station that celebrates Melbourne’s broad and diverse music scene. Previously broadcasting from satellite locations like The Melbourne Zoo, MPavilion, Rooftop Bar, Lazerpig and more, Hope St Radio has found a new home at Collingwood Yards. Collaborating with friend and local pop-up food legend Jack Shaw, the beloved online community radio station will be broadcasting Thursday – Sunday from the newly opened Hope St Radio wine bar – the first hospitality venue to open at Collingwood Yards.

Leading the kitchen is the unstoppable Ellie Bouhadana of Ellie’s Table (who you may remember from our feature earlier this year), with a seasonal menu that features fresh pasta and delectable bar snacks like focaccia crostinis with caramelised onion, tarragon butter and double anchovy, kingfish tartare, and Wandin Yallock tomatoes with figs and burrata.

The generous, light-filled space has been masterfully designed by Peter Frederick Cole Architect, built by Spencer Byer Smith, and features playful, scribbly murals designed by Peter Cole in collaboration with Alice McIntosh. Think the doodles you drew with crayons on the table at your local Italian restaurant as a kid, but on the walls!

In a suburb like Melbourne’s Collingwood that seems to have an endless roster of newly opened bars and restaurants, it can be hard to stand out amongst the masses. But Pete and Jack have spent years working on something that is impossible to create through fit out or food alone: community.

It’s all about the vibe – and here, the cup over floweth for the Hope St Radio wine bar!

Hope St Radio wine bar will be officially open + taking dinner reservations from Thursday May 11th, but the venue is open for walk ins, wines and bar snacks until then. 

Hope St Radio wine bar
Thursday – Sunday
5pm – 11pm
Collingwood Yards
35 Johnston St
Collingwood, Victoria