Blue Mountains icon, Lawson’s Blue Mountain Hotel, has come to market sporting a major renovation.
The Phillips family acquired the pub in the mid-80s, and in 2006 began a major reconstruction based on a photograph taken c.1900.
In 2019 they put it to market and in October of that year Paul and Angela O’Brien took the keys.
The couple had owned O’Briens Hotel in Narooma for close to 20 years, and settled on Lawson following an 18-month quest for their next venture.
Built 1848 as the Blue Mountains Inn, the Hotel holds a 947sqm corner lot on the Great Western Highway opposite Lawson Railway Station and sees over 22,000 passing vehicles per day.
At street level it offers a spacious public bar with pool table, TAB and Keno, a welcoming lounge are with two fireplaces, large bistro leading to a rear deck with adjoining commercial kitchen, gaming lounge with nine machines and smoking solution, beer garden and bottleshop.
The upper level boasts a full wrap-around veranda, encasing five well-appointed ensuited rooms, plus a five-bedroom manager’s residence able to be partitioned to allow three additional letting rooms.
Lawson is 90 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD. The precinct was originally known as 24 Mile Hollow before a stint as Blue Mountains – inspired by the name of the original Inn – before confusion with the broader area led to its final name, Lawson. The town is easily accessible by car and rail and a drawcard for its waterfalls, walking tracks and local attractions.
The O’Briens have been living and working onsite, trading through their own extensive restoration, arising from Paul’s profession as a carpenter.
After two years’ slog they have built a well-diversified trade across departments, doubling average revenue to in excess of $50k per week.
“It needed a forward-thinking operator who could see the true potential of the Hotel and the icon it can be,” says Manenti Quinlan’s Leonard Bongiovanni, who brokered the deal to the O’Briens and is marketing the asset again.
“The Hotel has been rebuilt and renovated top to bottom and provides a truly impressive inspection, but there is still plenty of scope for a visionary operator to improve across all departments.”
Many of the O’Brien heartstrings are still back in Narooma, and Angela and Paul have been regularly making the five-hour drive. They engaged MQ to market the asset in pursuit of getting “back to family”.
“It’s a great old-looking pub – it’s got good bones!” Paul said.
No price expectation has been set on the property, amid a red-hot market.
The Blue Mountain Hotel will be sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Thursday, 2 December.
