A fire has gutted Colonial Leisure Group’s inner-Melbourne institution Bimbo Deluxe overnight.
Emergencies services were called to the Brunswick Street pub around 1:20am, and 24 firefighters battled the blaze into the early hours.
The fire is said to have been concentrated in the first-floor offices, and believed to have spread to the main bar on street level. The cause has been established as “faulty office equipment” and was in no way suspicious.
The Group reports no-one was in the building at the time.
The pub holds major significance for Melbourne’s live music scene, known for many years as the Punters Club, hosting the likes of Something For Kate, TISM, Spiderbait, You Am I, Frente! before its closure in 2002.
It was later rebranded Bimbo Deluxe, acquired by Colonial Leisure Group.
CLG has announced on social media that Bimbos will ‘be right ‘back’ in a few months, “with a less charred fit”.
