If you’ve spent any time on Hindley Street lately, you’ll know it’s mid-shift. Old haunts making way for new ideas, foot traffic thickening again, and a fresh generation of venues trying their hand at reviving Adelaide nightlife. Among them, Higher Vision Spirits Bar, a new late-night arrival built from the ground up to support its own drinks and the people drinking them.
Behind the bar is Chad Oldfield, founder of Higher Vision Spirits, who decided to give his drinks range a home of its own. Higher Vision Spirits was never designed as a precious, top-shelf label. The range was born in Roxby Downs, built with a very specific drinker in mind – people coming off long, physical days of work.
“It was really tailored around making a drink for the construction and mining industry,” he explains. “Not a high-end kind of drink.”
That ethos has carried straight into the bar. “Hard working, easy drinking,” a place where you can switch off after a big day, settle in, and enjoy what’s on offer without overthinking it. But despite the focused brief, the drinks list spans everything from bourbon and whisky to gin, rum and vodka.
The venue takes over the former Strats site on Hindley Street, though there’s no attempt to trade on nostalgia beyond one cheeky nod to the building’s past – a cocktail on the menu called Ex on the Strip. “It’s just a fun way to acknowledge the history of the space,” laughs Chad.
After years of working across regional areas, the move to Hindley Street marks a deliberate shift – higher visibility (which makes perfect sense).
“Hindley Street has the biggest volume of people and foot traffic,” Chad says. “With the upgrades the council’s doing, it felt like a really promising, upcoming area.”
The fit-out leans directly into the brand. The bar is hi-vis themed, with bartenders in high-visibility gear and subtle construction cues throughout the space. It’s a collaboration between Chad and his team, the marketing and design crew at Cheeky Kookaburra, and Gabrielle Walsh from Studio Vous, who helped guide the design process.
The intended crowd sits neatly in the middle ground. “We’ve really gone for that in-between Prohibition and Moseley crowd,” Chad says. “A nice, relaxing place where you can come and enjoy yourself.”
Music will help set the tone, with a DJ roster in the works and plans for the venue to stay dynamic while keeping things easygoing.
While Hindley Street isn’t short on bars, Higher Vision Spirits Bar isn’t trying to stand out. Those already familiar with the label know exactly what it’s about. “We just want to add to and enhance the experience for people coming through,” Chad says.
A place designed for people who work hard, want to unwind, and don’t need a song and dance to do it – except singing and dancing is absolutely encouraged.
Higher Vision already soft-launched December 19 at 128 Hindley Street, with the official opening slated for Feb.
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