Barrie, Bob and Chris Barton are partners in the Golden Age Cinema and Bar, a popular inner-city venue in Sydney.
The Surry Hills business marks the second collaboration for the band of brothers, who each bring a different skillset to the business.
Barrie manages the business strategy, Chris, who is based in Melbourne, looks after the creative side, and Bob takes care of the interiors.
Business is booming for the popular venue, but this wasn’t always the case - the site had been unoccupied for years before the Barton brothers restored and transformed it into a slick and stylish hotspot.
The cinema and bar occupy the site of the old Paramount Pictures office in Sydney - which was built in 1940 - and for the brothers, getting the right mix of nostalgia and modernity took a lot of consideration.
The theatre during restoration Source: SBS Small Business Secrets (Supplied)
“I think the habit of people, as they occupy a beautiful old building, is they try to re-create the way it was exactly, and that seems really sentimental,” Barrie said.
“We were very careful to avoid that, sure it’s a heritage cinema, but it needs to feel like a modern take on an old classic.”
During World War 2, newsreels and military films were shown in the small theatre, but these days, it’s a selection of cult classic films specially curated for Golden Age patrons.
The Paramount Pictures building was constructed in 1940. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets
Two of the original projectors remain on display, but almost everything else in the cinema had to be brought in, putting Bob’s interior design skills to the test.
“We managed to source the current chairs from a cinema that was being torn down in Zurich, and they are absolutely perfect with an austere beauty that fits the space,” Bob said.
The theatrette was using for screenings during World War 2. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets
“We piggybacked them on a hotel shipment, and it took a few months to get them over here, we restored them, re-fitted them into the cinema and even got our mum involved with the power tools.”
Business is very much a family affair for the South African-born brothers, whose first project together was a rooftop cinema in Melbourne’s Curtin House.
Bob Barton with the original cinema projectors. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets
The brothers initially planned on opening a rooftop cinema on the Paramount Pictures site, but their proposal was knocked back by the local council – an initial setback which provided the motivation to construct a cinema and bar instead.
“It took quite a few years of getting through council and heritage approvals,” Bob said.
“There wasn’t anything in this bar space, it was a large warehouse. I did 600 drawings to get it in the right shape and scale.”
The Golden Age is now a popular spot for locals and tourists, and since introducing live music on Thursdays and Saturdays, Barrie says they’ve seen an increase in the number of patrons.
Bob Barton in the Golden Age theatrette. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets
“When we started, people would only come to the bar if they were watching a film, but now we get people who come to the bar in its own right, to see a band as well,” Barrie said.
“So we’ve got a nice and very gentle, genuinely diverse audience right now.”
The brothers are now saddling up for their third, and possibly final, business venture – a fitness club to be constructed on the roof of the Paramount Pictures building.
“These businesses, we love them, but they are exhausting, and I feel like the recreation club on the roof is definitely going to be the last business we do for a while because otherwise we’ll be stretched too thin,” Barrie said.
