Sorry Not Sorry: ex-Swillhouse bartenders’ takeover tour for change
A takeover tour to fundraise and raise awareness around Australia — then the world.
Around the Bars is the weekly newsletter from Cara Devine, unpacking what’s happening in the best Melbourne bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Sign up here.
It has been six months since The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald published a series of articles that caused massive introspection in our world. At the core of what we do is making people feel comfortable and welcome – in other words, safe – and yet our industry has failed so many of our own people on that front. From the many conversations I’ve had, while everyone has their own individual emotions and reactions, there has been a repeated feeling of powerlessness: there needs to be a change, but where do we start?
Two of the women who went on record about their experiences at Sydney group Swillhouse are Rocky Hair and Jenna Hemsworth. Both are massively respected, award-winning bartenders and they are determined that their speaking up should set a precedent for the revolution needed. “We will never apologise for speaking up,” says Rocky. “This initiative is more than just a fight for our individual rights; it’s about opening the door for positive change in the hospitality industry. We want to ensure that this movement creates real consequences for those responsible and we won’t back down until we achieve justice.”
So, they have come together to create Sorry Not Sorry, a collective of former Swillhouse employees which will be hosting a takeover tour, first nationally and then internationally. “I guess this is our response to that question: how do we change this, and how do we make enough noise that it's heard by the powers that be who have all the resources available to them to do better, but don’t?
“I had hundreds of people reaching out to me [after the articles],” says Rocky, “telling me the most horrific stories but also wanting to do anything they could to help out and asking, how do we change this? It's a very difficult question to answer because it can often feel like we’re very much the underdogs, with women and non-binary people being kept out of those senior management positions because of a variety of factors.”
While it is does not escape me that the people who have already been through so much, both personally and professionally, should not have to shoulder the burden of putting it right, they have (unfortunately) had to become knowledgeable about industrial relations and the legal side of things, and so can provide a rallying point for those trying to do better.
“We wanted to make something that was more direct communication with the industry as opposed to external media, and do what we do best: hospitality, having a good time, having a laugh, taking our drinks on tour, doing everything that we’ve done to have successful careers but for the express purpose of fundraising our legal costs and raising awareness across Australia — not just in Sydney and Melbourne — about conditions in hospitality and how we’re just not going to accept this anymore.
“There is no excuse any more – there are consultants that advise on this in every state, there are people who will come in and sort out your HR. There are plenty of resources, as a venue owner, that you can access – it's quite literally a Google search away.” You can also consult people like Rocky, Jenna, Alex, Reuby, Britt (the Sorry Not Sorry collective), or your own female/non-binary/non-white staff – just pay them for their time and the extra work they are putting in.
The positive in this very negative situation has been the sense of community it has engendered, and the Sorry Not Sorry crew want to promote a unionist approach within the industry. This shit happened (and is probably still happening in some workplaces) and we have to face that, together.
Rocky’s advice for younger women, non-binary and non-white folks in the industry is to find your network. “I think the biggest red flag, and we all know it now, is any employer that refers to themselves as a family,” Rocky says. “You don’t need another family, you need a job.”
Homogeneity is another huge warning sign. “It’s not to say that there aren’t solid, supportive white men out there, but from my experience a lack of diversity is always a dead giveaway,” says Rocky.
“There is a community out there. Go to other bars, find other women. Get yourself added to the group chats – they’re always active, there are people who will answer your beck and call at any time of the day or night. There has been an incredible shift in community in the last six months, even people like myself and other people who had worked at Swillhouse, myself and Jenna, we’d never had the chance to connect beyond passing each other at events – shared experience is always going to bond anyone.
“My main aim right now would be to take that very public because I think we’re a force to be reckoned with and we don’t need to hide this anymore.”
I remember meeting both Jenna and Rocky well before these articles landed and I was awestruck in both cases. Sorry Not Sorry lets them get back to what they do best – hospitality – and this is what defines them. Nothing else.
Sorry Not Sorry Takeover Tour Dates
- Sunday 23 March: with Caretaker’s Cottage at The Lincoln, Carlton, VIC
- Sunday 30 March: Savile Row, Fortitude Valley, QLD
- Tuesday 1 April: Hanky Panky Lounge, Darwin, NT
- Sunday 6 April: Edward & Ida’s, Northbridge, WA
- Tuesday 8 April: Maybe Mae, Adelaide, SA
- Sunday 13 April: venue TBA, Sydney, NSW
Give them a follow on Instagram to get up to date details at @sorrynotsorry.collective.