Open & Closed

HISTORIC KATOOMBA HOTEL OPENING BOUTIQUE BREWERY

Posted on April 29th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
[caption id="attachment_2172" align="alignright" width="452"] Carrington Hotel, Katoomba. Image courtesy NSW State Library[/caption] The magnificent Carrington Hotel in Katoomba has won a hard-fought battle to transform part of its heritage structure into a micro-brewery and “major tourist attraction”. Built in 1882

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

COMISKEYS SET TO REVEAL NEW MEGA-PUB

Posted on March 13th, 2015 by Clyde Mooney
The owners of ‘Australia’s largest pub’ are on the brink of opening the sister venue they describe as “a once in a lifetime opportunity”. Following development delays and some anti-noise noise from neighbours, the Comiskey Group is ready to unveil

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