The tempestuous Port Admiral Hotel will reopen, after being rescued by local publicans Simone Douglas and Alex Fairgrieve.
In February it was announced the stoic 174-year-old would close its doors again – just five years after its return, which ended it being shuttered for more than a decade.
Dubbed the Railway Hotel when it was built, in 1849, the following decade it took its present moniker. It was a stalwart of the wharf precinct on the Adelaide River until 2005, when former publican David Clarke was forced to close it.
It sat for over ten years until Alison Sloley and Adam Freeman acquired it, recognising opportunity and investing $1 million in a facelift, reopening the Admiral in late 2017.
The town of Port Adelaide was experiencing a rebirth, bringing new government buildings, waterfront development and a train station.
But at the start of 2023 liquidators were appointed, and the Port Admiral Hotel closed again. Landlord, Sloley, reported hoping to find new tenants and have it reopen soon.
This week Port Adelaide received the confirmation that eight submarines will be built in the area, stemming from the AUKUS deal, and the region is preparing to boom.
Looking squarely to the sub-heavy environment, the Admiral has been picked up by Douglas and Fairgrieve, who also own the Duke of Brunswick in Adelaide, which they took over late 2017.
The pair report they were not actually in the market for another pub, but sometimes when such a “beautiful old building” comes along it proves to be an ideal match.
“We will be opening the doors as soon as all the licence transfers are complete,” posted Douglas.
The eager new owners are looking to a ‘little bit of transformation’ that will see the existing bottleshop become a casual drinking or dining space, and the balcony open every day to “sit and watch the world go by”, she says.
Douglas is coeliac, and as in The Duke’s menu, the Admiral’s menu will be gluten free.
Planning a welcoming space for all comers, the pub will be pet friendly and staff will complete Auslan training to communicate with hearing-impaired patrons.
“If you know any great hospo peeps that want a change of scenery send them our way.”
