Changing Times

SONNEL UNVEILS MARRICKVILLE TRANSFORMATION

Posted on February 19th, 2025 by Jane Louise
Sonnel Hospitality has announced yet another hotel transformation, shifting its focus east to make more in Sydney’s inner west. Complementing news of the group’s unveiling $75 million remodelling plans across four of its key venues, Sonnel, formerly the Nelson Meers

HERITAGE HOTEL HITS THE HIGHWAY

Posted on February 12th, 2025 by Jane Louise
Adelaide’s 145-year-old West Thebarton Hotel has until July to close, destined for demolition as part of the North-South Corridor upgrade. The River Torrens to Darlington Project (T2D) designs mean the land the heritage-listed pub occupies will be cleared to make

HARVEST PUTS NEW SPIN ON TRADITION

Posted on January 31st, 2025 by Jane Louise
Harvest Hotels has recently unveiled two of its latest redevelopments – The Milestone Hotel in Dubbo, and The Old Pub Woy Woy. Harvest’s current portfolio encompasses 13 pubs across NSW and SA, with The Milestone and The Old Pub being

LIGHTS BACK ON AT BEACONSFIELD

Posted on January 29th, 2025 by Clyde Mooney
Twenty years ago, St Kilda’s historic Beaconsfield Hotel closed following the shocking death of former star cricketer David Hookes, and the subsequent backlash from the public. Now, owner Geoffrey Ogden, who runs several Western Australia venues with his family, has

GERNER RECLAIMS THE KOONYA

Posted on November 29th, 2024 by Clyde Mooney
After nearly a century and a half overlooking Port Phillip Bay, Julian Gerner has revived Sorrento’s Koonya Hotel, in a return to days of old. The pub was built by John Boswell Clarke and family using local limestone, opening as

HARVEST UNVEIL AUSSIE INN SUPER-PUB

Posted on November 22nd, 2024 by Clyde Mooney
Harvest Hotels has unveiled its major remodelling of the Aussie Inn in Hackham, destined to be the new “super pub” of South Adelaide. The group bought the large-format suburban watering hole in 2022 from Hackham Community Sports and Social Club,

WILLIAMSTOWN’S STAR RISES AGAIN

Posted on November 20th, 2024 by Clyde Mooney
Serial pub revivers Matt Vero and Stephen Mitchell have brought the love back to Williamstown’s much-missed Morning Star Hotel, with a fresh design and tilt to family-focus.   Built 1890, the Star of the Williamstown peninsula succumbed to the ravages

MORETON HOSPITALITY MAKEOVER FOR TWO MORE ICONS

Posted on November 4th, 2024 by Jane Louise
Last week restauranteur Ben Walsh announced the sale of Surf Parade venues Miss Moneypenny’s and Fat Freddy’s to Anthony Moreton’s Queensland-based group. The new owner of the multimillion-dollar venues, Moreton Hospitality, has likewise announced its plans for the two spaces,

HOTEL COMMONWEALTH’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN

Posted on November 1st, 2024 by Clyde Mooney
Surviving the purgatory of subsidence, the iconic Hotel Commonwealth reopens after a multi-party restoration a decade in the making. Established in 1910, the two-storey pub was built in the Colonial style, with ornate balustrades skirting the upper balcony and a

FELONS BREWING CO MAKES A SPLASH AT MANLY WHARF

Posted on October 18th, 2024 by Jane Louise
Artemus Group has opened the first of its Sydney ventures, Felons Brewing Co, at the Manly Wharf Bar site. The Group acquired the property in April, with the blessing of previous owner Ben May. The heritage-listed Manly Wharf, first built