AVC POSTS STRONG RESULTS
As Australians continue to swelter under high inflation, Australian Venue Co has reported a significant bump in earnings largely by maintaining its strategy of family-friendly and value offerings. In FY26 the country’s second-largest pubs group further expanded its ever-growing portfolio
REVIVAL-READY ROYAL HITS THE MARKET
The Royal Hotel in Clifton Hill, which closed almost a decade ago and was nearly turned into apartments, is now being sold by private owners. Set on a 736sqm corner, around four kilometres north-east of the Melbourne CBD, the three-storey
THE FLYING FOX PUTS A BRITISH SPIN ON THE LOCAL
Forget the sprawling Melbourne pub. The Flying Fox is taking a more intimate approach to the neighbourhood local, with a British pub ethos. The latest opening from the team behind St Kilda’s The Lion & Wombat has landed on Bridge
DUBBO LOCALS TURN OVER THE GARDEN
One of Dubbo’s most recognised family-friendly hotels, the Maas brothers’ Garden Hotel, has changed hands between loyal locals in a discreet off-market transaction. The large two-storey pub boasts a long history in the city, around 400 kilometres north-west of Sydney,
ALH’S ESPLANADE HOTEL SET TO REOPEN AFTER $11.5M REVAMP
Brighton's historic Esplanade Hotel is set to reopen next month following an $11.5 million redevelopment that includes the launch of a new boutique beachfront hotel. The landmark Adelaide venue has been closed since October while owner ALH Group completed a
MERIVALE GETS THE SACK
Merivale frontman Justin Hemmes has signed on the line for Merivale to acquire the Solotel-operated Sackville Hotel in inner west hotspot Rozelle. In May the Sackville was brought to market along with the Bank Hotel in Newtown and The Clock
THE NEXT ROUND: WHAT VICTORIA’S ELECTION COULD MEAN FOR HOSPITALITY
With the Victorian State Election due in November, pubs have opportunity to examine what each party is offering the hospitality sector. The incumbent Labor Government has continued to position itself as a major supporter of arts, culture and the night-time
POLICE HUNT THUG THAT BASHED BLIND MAN
Police are searching for the perpetrator of a cowardly unprovoked bashing of an elderly blind man recently at the Orrong Hotel. 64-year-old Darren Rout is visually impaired, wearing strong glasses, requiring a cane and fitted with a prosthetic eye. On
WEALTH ON THE COMMONS IN TOWNSVILLE
Two hard-working families have put up the for sale sign at their historic Commonwealth Hotel in Townsville, providing plenty of blue sky in the Sunshine State. Townsville’s Commonwealth is a classic colonial-style two-storey local built to coincide with Australia’s federation,
WESTONS REVIVE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES
The fireplaces are burning again at inner Melbourne’s Friendly Societies Hotel, marking the return of one of the suburb's oldest pubs after almost two years sitting empty. Reopened in June by Leo Weston and his parents, Clare and Nathan, Friendly
