Changing Times

HARDIMAN’S REVIVAL SEES NEW OPEN DOOR

Posted on September 14th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
Michael Thiele and Craig Ellison are back, with the grand unveiling of their rebuilt Hardiman’s Hotel in Kensington, turning a new page for the duo. Thiele and Ellison were the drive behind the former Open Door Pub Co, which grew

EAST BRUNSWICK TO JUMP AGAIN WITH NEW LOOK

Posted on September 3rd, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
After selling at auction late last year for $4.4 million, the iconic East Brunswick Hotel is back with a new look for another encore. The pub is a three-storey corner structure on a compact 380sqm block that was operated for

TOUGH TIMES CLOSE TWO QUEENSLAND PUBS

Posted on August 27th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
Queensland regional pubs are doing it tough amid rising costs for transport and utilities, with two stories of planned revival resulting in recent closure. Wendy and Bruce McFarlane own and operate the Royal Hotel at Rubyvale in Queensland’s gem fields,

PHMG UNVEILS NEW TOXTETH FOR A MODERN GLEBE

Posted on August 13th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
PHMG has reopened the reinvented Toxteth Hotel, where “nostalgia meets innovation”, following a comprehensive six-month renovation. Public House Management Group (PHMG) bought the inner-west pub early 2017 for $22 million from Singleton and Dixon’s Riversdale Group. The Toxteth – aka

BALMAIN ICON EXCHANGE HOTEL REOPENS WITH IDEAL SPACE

Posted on July 25th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
Ending more than a year closed, the iconic Exchange Hotel in Balmain has reopened with a pioneering business model, new concept and new first-time publican operator. The landmark pub dominating the corner of classic Balmain arteries Beattie and Mullens Streets

ROYAL MAIL BALLARAT IN RECEIVERSHIP – AGAIN

Posted on July 6th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
A well-known Ballarat pub has closed its doors again, after a second tenant, connected with the first, has had liquidators take over. The Royal Mail was operated by Royal Mail Hotel (Ballarat) Pty Ltd under a vendor finance agreement, until

NEW MURHPYS WITH ROOFTOP BAR FOR GEELONG

Posted on June 20th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
Geelong’s Irish Murphy’s has undergone a big transformation, adding a rooftop bar and fine-tuning the offering to become Murphys. The team of Shaun Aspinall, Tom Ward, Ian Nichols and Daniel O’Donghue purchased what was then the struggling ‘Gin & Co’

PATONGA HOTEL CLOSED AND SELLING AMERICA’S CUP BAR

Posted on May 4th, 2018 by Clyde Mooney
New proprietors of the Patonga Hotel, the Boathouse Group, have closed the pub for an overhaul and are auctioning off its famous America’s Cup bar that once graced the Sydney Hilton. Andrew and Pip Goldsmith have built the successful Boathouse

LAST PUB CLOSES – DRINKING AND VIOLENCE UP

Posted on April 30th, 2018 by Jane Louise
A tiny town in Western Australia is suffering the effects of the closure of its only pub, with local health workers reporting increased rates of alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour. The LGA of Wiluna is 1,100 kilometres’ drive north-east of