New team takes over Clocks at Melbourne's Flinders Street Station

Darran Smith and Steve Schreuder, new owners of Clocks cafe at Flinders St station.
Darran Smith and Steve Schreuder, new owners of Clocks cafe at Flinders St station. Photo: Wayne Taylor

The time warp that is Clocks at Flinders Street Station, sports bar and pokies venue, has been taken over by Steve Schreuder (Limerick Arms, South Melbourne) and Darran Smith (Roving Marrow, Carlton).

The pair rent the dining room from Doxa Social Club, which sends profits to its youth charity. For now, the Clocks kitchen is pumping out the Limerick Arms' straightforward pub menu to take them through football finals and spring racing.

Come January they will renovate, reopening as a 150-­seat venue inspired by Los Angeles' Grand Central Market (a multi­vendor melting pot) and Arnold's Country Kitchen in Nashville (a soul food cafeteria).

A coffee cart and hidden whisky bar are part of the plan, too. "I want people to say we're meeting at Clocks, not under the clocks," says Smith.