Jon Adgemis’ Public Hospitality Group has unveiled the new look Camelia Grove Hotel of Alexandria, offering a high-end pub and trattoria.
The commanding multi-level building on a corner of Henderson Road still has its collection of old school rooms and spaces, providing patrons a public bar, dining area, sports bar and TVs, pool, upstairs accommodation and a secluded beer garden.
Modern touches include the impressive wine wall, courtyard, and boutique rooms, comprising three apartments adjoining the communal garden terrace.
For nearly four decades it was the domain of pub legend Adella Wright-Young, who purchased it from Tooth and Co in 1983, before finally selling to the up-and-coming Jaga Group, now known as Public Hospitality Group (PHG).
The new owners, headed by Jon Adgemis, paid circa $16 million and contracts were exchanged early 2020. However, an extended settlement meant Wright-Young was the one trading through the first year of the pandemic.
PHG has been growing a collection of Sydney CBD-fringe pubs with accommodation. Last year saw the group snare Camperdown’s Lady Hampshire and Noah’s at Bondi, and launch its new-look The Strand.
Taking possession in 2021, PHG re-opened the new iteration of the 154-year-old Camelia late last year, with a new kitchen and menu by chef Giuseppe Fuzio, bringing fine-dining expertise from his experience in Florence and Japan.
The revised food offering has retained upmarket pub classics, but Fuzio suggests the vast majority of Sydney pubs “have the same menu” and he has introduced his own specials, such as stone-baked pizzas made with fresh Italian flour, house-made pastas, and a focus on seafood.
PHG bills itself as owner-developers, and may have interest in further expansion of the asset by way of its existing B4 Mixed-use zoning, 18 metre height approval and 3:1 FSR.
