Elia Economou has been tempted to sale of his beloved Dick’s Hotel, Balmain, as the pub thrives in an evolving precinct.
Closely following the news that the landmark Town Hall Hotel is back on the market as a reinvented retail site tenanted by gym outlet Orange Theory and associated business Massage Envy, another of Balmain’s generous collection of pubs has become available.
Dick’s occupies around 600sqm on the corner of Beattie and Mullins Streets, a few blocks off main drag Darling St – opposite another former pub, the Exchange Hotel.
Since buying the business in 2006, Economou has added another storey to the premise. This was initially additional bar space, but demand has turned it to a dedicated function area that bolsters the Hotel’s ability to cater to events, notably including one of the biggest days of the year, Anzac Day, this week.
“The pub’s never traded so well in the whole 12 years we’ve had it,” Economou states. “Balmain’s in a really good spot at the moment; it’s got its identity now. When we bought it, it was more blue-collar, but now it’s a really nice mix.”
He has also worked tirelessly on community engagement, backing local sporting clubs and continuing sponsorship of the Balmain Rowers’ Club, which began over a hundred years ago, at Dick’s.
Economou says with “so much history” embedded in the 1874 Hotel – both personal and landmark – it will be a bittersweet day when he hands over the keys and takes the wife and kids on a well-deserved vacation.
“When you’re invested in it like that, it’s hard not to get involved. You build bonds with people around you that you’re serving. We’ll miss it when it’s gone. We’ve gotten a lot of good friends out of the place; met some really good people.”
After too many knocks on the door presenting “humbling” offers, Economou has listed Dick’s for sale through Ray White Asia-Pacific director Andrew Jolliffe, who notes its disposition between two discontinued former rivals.
“The validity of the East Coast property market is underpinned by particularly strong commercial property fundamentals, and accordingly it is no surprise to us that we find ourselves at an inflection point in terms of the test for highest and best use for some assets within the category,” advised Jolliffe.
Beyond the $3 million in food & bev revenue the business is seeing, it holds nine EGMs, and as Band 1 the potential for significantly more.
Comparable asset sales suggest price expectation around $10 million.
Dick’s Hotel in Balmain is being sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Wednesday 30 May.
