After 51 years and too many beers to count, the McDonald family’s tenure at the celebrated Manly Hotel will come to an end at the end of the month.
Stewart and Dulcie McDonald took on a lease at the pub in 1970, and later passed the reins to their kids Jenny, Doug and Sandy. The family also operates the Manly Marina Cove Hotel, as well as other business interests.
Sandy McDonald went on to be awarded the QHA’s Hotelier of the Year in 2013, and inducted as a life member in 2016.
Passing the half-century milestone last year, he began thinking about an exit when the landlord bought back the 40 gaming machine entitlements. And in July the news emerged that Australian Leisure & Hospitality (ALH) would be taking over.
The current lease ends 30 September, and McDonald told the Courier Mail he hoped his family’s role in the pub’s history would be remembered well.
“What our legacy is exactly, I’m not sure is up for us to say. It’s probably up to the people we have served all these years.”
Endeavour Group is expected to take over with plans to redevelop the two-storey brick pub, which first opened in 1955.
Located on the corner of Cambridge Parade and Stratton Terrace, just a block from Manly Boat Harbour, it has become a Brisbane beachside landmark.
It’s understood ALH will take on a new lease, with a requirement of considerable capex.
At this stage the Hotel will inevitably close for a period, as OLGR does not report any licences for the Manly Hotel approved to ALH.
