Changing Times

EDITOR’S NOTE: CHAIN THRIVES AS 30 PUBS A WEEK CLOSE

Posted on April 24th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
As the British pub scene continues to undergo a transition centuries in the making, one “identikit” chain is thriving. Britain boasts roughly three times as many pubs per head of population as Australia, and similarly, the JD Wetherspoons chain operates

PUB ICON BURNS DOWN BUT SET TO RISE AGAIN FOR ‘THE DUST’

Posted on March 30th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
[caption id="attachment_1799" align="alignright" width="422"] Image supplied by Queensland Police[/caption] The hotel made famous in the 1956 film A Town Like Alice burned to the ground last Thursday night, but owners suggest it will be back – again. Gannon’s Hotel was

DRAG QUEEN ICON PUB TO GET ‘SPICIER’

Posted on March 25th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
Sydney’s famous mecca for drag shows, gender illusionists and star of hit movie ‘Priscilla Queens of the Desert’ is being taken over in April by acclaimed entertainment operators Spice Group International. Having outgrown their current digs in Martin Place, the

TIME HAS COME FOR HOURGLASS TOWER: IRIS GROUP

Posted on March 18th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
Iris Group has gotten the go-ahead for stage one of the massive redevelopment of its Kings Cross landmark, the Mercure Hotel. [caption id="attachment_1663" align="alignright" width="361"] Mercure complex. Image: Google Maps[/caption] The Group purchased the mixed use property for $65 million

HISTORIC ILLAWARRA HOTEL SET TO RETURN

Posted on March 16th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
The historic Imperial Hotel at Clifton will be “restored to its former glory” after being boarded up for more than a decade. WIN Corporation has owned the hotel “breathtakingly perched high above the Pacific Ocean” on Grand Pacific Drive for

STUMPS HOTEL PULLS STUMPS AND RELOCATES

Posted on March 11th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
A tenancy dispute has dislodged the Stumps Hotel from its grounds in Ipswich, with the business owners literally packing up and moving on. The long-running dispute centres on areas of the building that leaseholders Rajesh Sharma and his wife Prianka

Hi-Fi bars go quietly into administration

Posted on February 18th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
The music has stopped for prominent venues The Hi-Fi group, with a statement announcing voluntary administration due to a dispute with a single creditor. Owners of the three music venues, including former Carlton footballer Luke O’Sullivan, issued the statement last

Hawkesbury’s Jolly Frog will be saved!

Posted on February 16th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
Sitting dormant and fire-torn at the entrance to Windsor township, the Jolly Frog looks set to come back to life as Hawkesbury Council takes it under its wing. Vacant for the past three years, the historic pub was gutted by

ALH’s 1968-built Burvale Hotel in heritage brouhaha

Posted on February 11th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
An ALH pub in outer Melbourne has become embroiled in a heritage debate that would appear to contradict the buildings own origins. Built less than 50 years ago in 1968, the Burvale Hotel/Motel is a largely unaltered example of work