After nearly 18 months in operation, Newtown eatery D’Munchies has closed its doors.
D’Munchies was the brainchild of chef Dave Pyne and provided Sydney’s inner west with stoner-food fixes such as cheeseburger-flavoured ‘420 fries’, some tasty burgers, pretzel ice cream and more.
As well as housing some killer weed art, D’Munchies was a huge supporter of the Sydney free cannabis scene, holding a bunch of events and taking up BBQ duties at the many Free Cannabis picnics.
Other than the obvious financial strains of running a new eatery in gentrified Newtown in 2017, Pyne in a statement talked about the pressures that come with publicly repping the weed scene.
Dave with Jules and Anty from The Bennies
“Being the only place in the city that represents weed put a lot of pressure on us, perceived or otherwise. It felt like we needed to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Being your average loose hospo guys and gals we did not always present a good image in general… We had to change and clean our image up but that caused many issues internally and also changed the vibe of the restaurant.”
He continued to warn of the known harms of heavy cannabis use, and the ethical qualms that come with trying to support the cannabis movement, while trying not to promote unsafe use.
“With one foot on each side of the line. I do not deny the negative effects of weed. Couch lock aside, weed contributes to mental health issues. In a high pressure/stressful environment that becomes abundantly clear… The message sent out from pro weed agendas is not always a responsible one.”
These, naturally, are similar questions the Dopamine team has had to answer – and questions that will have to be answered by the legal recreational cannabis industry at large around the world as it continues to grow.
That aside – congratulations to Dave and the D’Munchies team for your hard work in pioneering the scene, and best of luck for future ventures.
