Prime Melbourne watering hole the Toorak Hotel is in new hands, as family operators Doolan Hotels step up the collection.
Established in 1854, the imposing and ornate building has been known as the Bush Inn and Hawksburn Hotel and back again, before taking a local name at its high-profile corner in the blue ribbon inner eastern suburb of Toorak, adjoining Hawksburn Village.
The well-known F&B venue boasts over 650sqm of trading area and capacity for 400 patrons, offering a public bar showing sport on big TVs, and a spacious, family-friendly dining room.
Operated in recent years by Leisa Wheatland’s Wheatland Hotels, the business was put to market last year, reporting weekly revenue of $50-55k but billed as an almost blank canvass, with significant opportunity to reinvent and recreate.
It is in a prime location to capture and build a strong functions business, utilising the unused upper floor.
Stepping up to the challenge is Tom Doolan, of Doolan Hotels, who finally took the keys at the end of May and after a quick “paint and polish” three-week renovation, reopened on 17 June and says that so far, it’s “all going okay”.
“We didn’t have time to muck around,” he explains.
The new owners will be capitalising on the upstairs upside, looking to launch a private function space for 80-pax and cocktails by the end of July.
The family group already operate several bars in St Kilda, and Mr McCracken at Essendon Fields. But despite the quick turnaround, Doolan says he’s in no hurry to find more pubs yet.
“We’ll do this one, then re-assess in a couple of years, and see if I’m silly enough to do it again,” he suggests.
The sale campaign was managed by CBRE Hotels’ Mat George, who says both the nearby Mt Erica and Orrong Hotels have experienced success in recent years after a change of ownership and direction.
“The Toorak Hotel is a fantastic pub with a large footprint over two levels providing great scope for new and energetic owner operators to renovate and capture the growing crowds and renewed enthusiasm around grand old pubs getting a quality makeover.
“Congratulations to the outgoing owners looking for a change of pace for the short-medium term whilst we welcome the new owners into the area and look forward to watching their success and continued growth.”
