Ben Maher first stepped foot inside Northbridge’s famous 133 Aberdeen Street address as a 17-year-old when his family had designs on converting the long-standing post office into a nightclub. A decade after he was last commercially tied to the venue, Mr Maher has returned to the fabled corner as a renowned entrepreneur promising his wildest venture yet.
With Pulp Fiction-inspired live music venue Jack Rabbit Slim’s calling it quits earlier this year, the developer and co-founder of Varsity Bar threw his cowboy hat in the ring to take over residence, with a plan to bring a touch of the Wild West to the city. From Friday May 8, his latest venture Yee-Haw Bar will invite cowgirls and cowboys for a night of boot scooting, line dancing, and rowdy singalongs as Perth’s late-night hub welcomes the city’s new ‘country’ club.
As a long-time lover of country music, Mr Maher drew inspiration from the native institutions ruling Dallas, Austin, and Nashville. “I’ve always been a fan of country music. And given the more recent resurgence of it all, I’ve sort of always had it in the back of my mind (to open a country-themed bar),” he told The West Australian. “A mate reached out and mentioned that the venue was coming up, or it’s going to be available, so it was pretty last minute.”
Factoring in the increasing number of country music artists touring Australia in recent times, the popularity of dessert-set festival Coachella, pop stars like Beyonce and Post Malone releasing country albums, and rodeos popping up around WA, he said the timing felt right. Not only is the venue a perfect fit for Mr Maher’s country dreamscape, but the property developer has arguably a greater claim to the address than anyone in Perth considering his father’s history — including his own previous exploits.
Mr Maher’s father Bob Maher is a pioneer of Perth’s nightlife scene who has owned, run, or had a stake in more than 30 WA venues. The nightclub king’s portfolio fuelled a golden age of the city’s after dark scene dating back to the 60s, with names like Pinocchio’s (now Magnet House), Gobbles, Beethovens, Fremantle’s Zanzibar, The Hip-E Club, and The Aberdeen Hotel under his control at various stages. Bob is the mastermind behind the conversion of the Aberdeen Street Post Office into The Post Office nightclub in the mid-90s, and in doing so, he opened his son’s eyes to a similar career path.
“I worked there straight out of school with the builders, (I had) no idea what I was doing, as a labourer doing the demo work, and I really got to see what went into it from the ground up,” he said. “It was probably one of my dad’s most significant projects he’d done.” Later, the club re-branded as Black Betty’s where it welcomed rock bands four nights a week. Some 10 years later, Bob chose to divest from Northbridge altogether, leaving it in the hands of his son.
Mr Maher and his friend Liam Mazzucchelli, behind Villa nightclub and Touch Bass festival, bought out Bob’s equity and re-opened as the flashy yet shortlived club Parker in 2013. “Sometimes, when things are too bright and shiny, they don’t have any longevity, so that was difficult to maintain, at which point I wanted to focus on Varsity,” Mr Maher said. Mr Mazzucchelli and his associates then conceived Jack Rabbit Slim’s.
However, with that venture wrapping up earlier this year after close to a decade, it opened the door for Mr Maher to return. Far from his first rodeo at the venue, he didn’t need much help regaining access. “It was bizarre stepping back in — Liam’s opened the front gate for me to let me in, to take me through the venue, and then I just pulled out my keys, and my keys still worked in the door,” he said. “It’s just that familiarity of when you’ve been around something for 20 years that you know it well.”
Mr Maher sold Varsity Group to Signature Hospitality Group in 2022 but remains closely connected on the property and development side. With a natural tie to Yee-Haw Bar through their shared Americana themes, Varsity’s food favourites will be on the menu at his new establishment, as well as a “relatively selective cocktail menu”. Beyond that, guests are encouraged to don country garb to embrace the vibe, but will not be out of place if they choose not to.
Current plans are to keep the venue open late in line with Slim’s tradition, but Mr Maher foresees revellers calling through after an early dinner, as well as following drinks elsewhere, and hopes to be a popular birthday party setting. The country music-lover has been in talks with national artists to swing by for a set, and has a couple of dream American picks should the venue take-off. “I grew up with the old school stuff and love Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, all the originals. But my kids run around singing Zach Bryan who seems to be the go to guy, Luke Combs is also phenomenal,” Mr Maher said. “So put Willie down, followed by Zach Bryan.”
Yee-Haw Bar opens to the public on Friday May 8, and will operate Thursday through Saturday from 7pm until late.
