Marty Coard, Noam Lissner and Mat Drummond have had a big year. In the final days of 2023 the crew opened Middle Eastern-inspired wine bar and bistro, Ach, in the heart of Hamilton and they’ve not had an idle week since. One would think, with free time in short supply, that the Ach team would be stretched too thin to open another concept this year. Well, as is turns out, they’ve found a way to make it happen.

In September, the crew will open Sarni – a neighbourhood bar that will be serving sandwiches by day and small plates by night. Joining Marty, Noam and Mat in the endeavour is Hugo Hirst, a long-time friend of the group who boasts a set of hospitality bona fides of his own, having previously been a brewer at 4 Hearts Brewing in Ipswich. Together, the foursome will be channelling a shared affection for stacked deli-style sandwiches into the new joint, which is currently taking shape on Racecourse Road in Ascot.

“It’s just a place for friends, really,” says Hugo of Sarni’s overarching concept. “During the day it’ll be sandwiches, and at night time it’ll be small plates and share plates – maybe a couple of mains.”

“We’ll keep using the same ingredients so we get at Ach, but it doesn’t have to be Middle Eastern here – we’re not pigeonholing it, in that sense,” adds Marty. “We want it to be, primarily, a place where people want to come and have fun.”

Compared to Ach’s complex from-scratch build, Sarni’s fit-out will be a DIY affair. The team is already hard at work transforming the space – previously home to Frigg Cafe – into what Noam describes as a “New York diner meets European deli”, with a kitchen along one wall, a bar along another and communal-style seating inside and out.

“There’s a bit of an Australian feel, too,” says Hugo. “We’re using Australian hardwoods – all the tables are red gum and the chairs are Tasmanian oak. The bar, similar to Ach, will be a big slab, but it will be milled timber and not live edge.”

When it comes to Sarni’s menu, the team are keeping things simple – at least to begin.

“At the start we’re looking to do sandwiches during the day,” says Marty. “Like deli-style sandwiches with cured meats, that kind of thing. And then we’ll open up for a few nights once liquor licensing comes through and just do whatever we find fun at the time.”

“We want to play on people’s nostalgia a bit here, as well,” says Noam. “We’ll get some old-school drinks in and, food-wise, just play to people’s inner child.”

While exact details on the menu are still being ironed out, test dishes the team has experimented with include charcoal-chicken sandwiches with sumac onions, garlic and herb labneh, and green tahini, bresaola sandwiches with guindilla peppers and pickles, and beef belly bacon sambos with onion-and-bacon jam, and chilli caramel whey sauce.

“It’ll be so hyper-seasonal that it could change every week, depending on what we can get,” says Marty, who tells us that Sarni will be making its own bread and dry ageing, curing and smoking its own meats, with protein sourced from the likes of Margra Lamb, 2GR wagyu and Saison Small Goods. A deli fridge will be stocked with sliced-to-order cheese from the likes of Fino Foods and Section28 Artisan Cheeses.

Once Sarni’s liquor licence is approved, the venue will offer a concise wine list weighing in at around 20 bottles, with the overall selection expected to rotate frequently. There will also be a couple of taps pouring batched cocktails and craft beers, with the possibility of the Sarni dispensing a brew of its own making down the line.

“I was a brewer and I’m keen to continue brewing,” says Hugo. “So we’ll hopefully get around to having our own house lager.”

The arrival of Sarni will continue Racecourse Road’s recent resurgence, with the bar joining the likes of Flaming & Co., Victory Lane and Vlume as the storied strip’s new wave of dining destinations.

“We wanted to hop on that, because I think Racecourse Road is a little bit of a legend in Brisbane,” says Marty, who is excited to bring something new to the area. “The food’s going to be top-notch, but we want it to be fun and we want it to be a cool environment.”

Sarni is targeting September for its official opening – stay tuned for more.