The Calligeros clan has taken ownership from the Maloufs of Paddington’s much-loved and much-owned landmark, the Bellevue Hotel.
The two-storey Bellevue has stood on the corner of Hargrave Street and Windsor Lane since 1880.
Industry faithful Steven Speed and partner Peter Walker’s WDS Hotels bought it from Singo’s Riversdale in 2014, soon undertaking a complex year-long renovation. In 2018 they sold it to the Maloufs’ Royal Hotels for around $6.5 million.
A year of volatility in the industry has forced pubs to pare back to necessities, but also gave many motivation to sternly consider business models. Group patriarch Peter Calligeros says his family operation was on the hunt for a new venue, seeking one that fit their culture and model of full-service offerings, with foundations in real estate fundamentals.
“Anna and I have always tried to have fairly well-weighted hotels, and probably more toward the food and beverage side, where we still believe there’s good value to add,” he explains. “We’re also interested in the properties themselves – both underpinning the value of the business, and for future generations of the group.”
Senior Calligeros’ have begun thinking about succession planning. Peter was born and bred in the Paddington area and has kids at schools nearby. Their pubs are predominantly smaller-format sites, which could be just what the Bellevue needs.
The pub is a former passion of renowned chef Damien Pignolet, and still counts an unerringly loyal base for its f&b.
In 2021 the precinct is looking to a new future, with the light rail and new football stadium opening next year, set to host three events a week, heralding a return to the Oxford Street pedestrian Stadium migrations and general resurgence in an area already seeing property values rise almost daily.
The continued pandemic trading conditions regularly see people queuing, unable to enter the Calligeros’ small footprint hotels and he says they still find themselves down around 30 per cent in trade across the portfolio.
But their Trinity Hotel in Surry Hills has experienced an “absolute transformation” since the opening of the light rail, and he believes the same thing will happen at Paddington.
The acquisition is a product of a long relationship between the families and the Calligeros’ are grateful to Ed, Justin and Jamie Malouf for passing on what they see as a perfect fit for their plans. It is also a new partnership with Calligeros Group operations manager Chris Glenn, with the new management set to take over at the end of April.
“It’s a pub that I frequented for many years,” notes Calligeros. “But in the current climate it’s more important than ever any business decision makes sense versus its potential earnings.
“We’ve assembled a great top-to-bottom team and are really looking forward to inviting the Bellevue and its customers into our family.”
Himself the product of a pub upbringing, his father getting into the game in the early 70s, at Redfern’s Railway Hotel and later the Henson Park Hotel, Calligeros is increasingly seeing a generational legacy as part of their group’s brand, and this played a role in the purchase in Paddington.
In an economic climate of uncertainty, he recalls his childhood lessons around hospitality being about good beer, good food, good service “and the rest will follow” and believes it’s time to get back to normal and back to business.
“All we’ve got to do is get the Waratahs winning again and I dare say Paddington will fill up.”
