The team behind Collingwood’s beloved Grace Darling Hotel are hanging up the bar mats, listing the business into the tight Victorian market.
Enjoying a prominent corner in the middle of Smith Street, central to Melbourne’s most diverse and in-demand precinct, the Grace Darling is an iconic locals’ food & bev pub known for hosting contemporary music and art installations almost every night.
Built in 1854, the pub includes a “character-enriched” public bar with an open fireplace, a popular sidewalk beer garden, commercial kitchen and generous dining area with multiple zones, including a private area at the rear with its own fireplace and atrium, and two rooms on the first floor used for functions and bands, with a dedicated bar and views over the Smith Street promenade.
For the past decade it has been operated by 5 Ships at Sea P/L, comprising Dan Zeidan and Maurice Manno, who consolidated its stature in the precinct, but have now reached the point of looking to the exit plan.
“We just think it’s time to move on,” says Manno. “For now, I just want to kick back and take it easy for a while. We’ve been working hard for the past nine years. I want to consolidate things and spend time with the family, work out my next move.”
Having embraced the distinction of being Melbourne’s second-oldest pub, Manno and Zeidan have strived to reflect their views that values of human dignity, respect and environmental sustainability are above social politics, and simply “universal truths”.
Casting off any concerns of patron loss, the partners have incorporated aspects of this philosophy into some parts of the business, with often simple things, such as the decision a year ago to stop using plastic drinking straws.
“As business people, we’ve kind of got a responsibility to lead the way sometimes, and alter our path,” suggests Manno. “Sometimes it takes a bit of courage, you get a bit of backlash from some people, but most people are completely fine and understanding.”
5 Ships has engaged CBRE Hotels’ Will Connolly to market the leasehold operation, with 17 years remaining, in total.
“It really is a Smith Street institution,” says Connolly. “It’s one of the more historic pubs in the area.
“I think it would benefit an operator with fresh eyes to go in there and continue its reputation – there’s plenty of blue sky, in my view.
“Given the limited amount of stock out there, and the reputation of the Grace, I think interest will be generous.”
The Grace Darling Hotel is being sold via Private Treaty.
