Eliza Croft
ANU has released the list of vendors that will be coming to Kambri. The precinct will feature a higher-end restaurant, supermarket, and dollar shop, but will not have Mikebabz, Brod or UniCorner Cafe.
The Kambri bar will be Badger & Co, rather than the Pop-Up’s bar, Molo Live. Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt said Badger & Co would “continue the long held ANU tradition of supporting live music acts”. Badger & Co is a business under the umbrella of the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union & Sports Club Ltd, which also owns the Vikings Clubs in Canberra. In July of this year, the entity also registered the business names “ANU Bar” and “ANU Bar & Refectory”. Observer has previously reported that ANU allegedly did not want the ANU Union to name its planned bar under Lena Karmel Lodge ‘ANU Bar’.
ANU has previously stated that Kambri would have a small supermarket. It appears that this will be Daily Market Supermarket, an Asian grocer which currently has a store under Kinloch Lodge. There will also be a “discount variety store” named Wow Store.
Asian Tiger, What the Pho, the Campus Bakery, Coffee Lab, Sushi Smith, ANU Pharmacy, and STA Travel will be moving from the Pop-Up Village to Kambri. Kubrick, Mr Papa, Tikka Stand, Brod, Mikebabz, MOMOs Taste of Tibet, UniCorner Cafe, La Empanada, and the Co-Op Bookshop were not mentioned in the announcement, and so presumably do not have a place in Kambri. Also not listed is Zambrero, despite staff telling Observer in September that there would be an outlet in Kambri.
While Mikebabz will be leaving campus, students will still be able to purchase Halal Snack Packs and kebabs at the new ‘Kebaba’ shop. Kebaba’s prices are broadly similar Mikebabz’s, although it is unclear whether prices will differ between the retailer’s Civic locations and the new ANU shop.
As previously reported, Harry Hartog will take over from the Co-Op as the campus bookshop. New cafes will replace Kubrick and UniCorner, including Cafe Milligram, Rex Espresso, and Otto’s. The latter of these will be in the student centre building, which will also house the ANUSA and PARSA offices.
There will be a number of other new outlets in the precinct. These include Chatime, a bubble tea shop which currently has a store under Lena Karmel Lodge. Also opening will be Gangnam Lane. Based on the name, this would appear to be a Korean food vendor. Nosh will be another new addition. A shop by the same name in the Canberra Centre sells poke bowls and nori tacos.
A restaurant named China Plate will also be opening. According to ANU’s media release, this will “offer a higher end option for special occasion dining”. China Plate currently has a restaurant in Kingston, where it serves a variety of Asian dishes at around the $20 to $30 price point.
A number of students have raised issues with affordability in the Pop-Up Village. An investigation by Observer revealed that the Pop-Up’s prices were, on average, more expensive than those in the old Union Court. The University has maintained that Kambri’s vendors will have a range of price points, including many that are highly affordable. “We have consulted closely with students, staff and our community to ensure the shops, food and beverage outlets, and services meet their needs and preferences,” Schmidt said in a media release.
The University’s media release says that Kambri will be opening in 2019. A University spokesperson confirmed that all of Kambri’s vendors will be opening in February 2019, rather than opening over the course of a few months.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the Pop-Up Village will be closing as Kambri opens. This ends speculation that the Pop-Up would remain open for some of Semester 1.
The complete list of vendors announced by ANU is below.
A new laneway, featuring “a variety of hawker style food outlets”, will include:
- Daily Market Supermarket
- Hot Star Chicken (food provider)
- Chatime (bubble tea)
- Gangnam Lane (food provider)
- Asian Tiger (returning food provider)
- What the Pho (returning food provider)
- The Campus Bakery (returning food provider)
- Café Milligram (café)
- ANU Pharmacy (returning)
- Wow Store (discount variety store)
- Commonwealth Bank (returning)
New shops and cafes surrounding the lawns of University Avenue will include:
- Badger & Co (bar)
- China Plate (restaurant)
- Harry Hartog (bookstore)
- STA Travel
- Coffee Lab (returning café)
- Kebaba (food provider)
- Otto’s (café within the student centre)
- Green with NV (food provider)
- Nosh (food provider)
- Sushi Smith (returning food provider)
- Rex Espresso (cafe/kiosk)
- Juicy Beans (juice and coffee within the teaching centre)
- UniSuper
- Broger Burger (food provider)
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