The stoic 174-year-old Port Admiral Hotel has closed again – just five years after its triumphant return after being shuttered for more than a decade.
Built 1849, it was originally dubbed the Railway Hotel in honour of the horse-drawn train line that ran to the pub. The pride of Port Adelaide took its current name in the 1850s and was the hub of the wharf precinct on the Adelaide River until 2005, when former publican David Clarke was forced to close it.
It remained dormant for more than a decade, before Alison Sloley and Adam Freeman acquired the property, recognising opportunity both in the region and the old hotel. They invested in a $1 million face lift, and in November 2017 the Port Admiral reopened.
The revived hotel met a town seeing rebirth, with new government buildings and waterfront development, and a new train station. A new operation began trading, under partnership of restaurant partners Crispian Fielke, Josh Baker and Dana Whyte, owners of Low & Slow restaurant Angus Henderson, Jim Morrison and Angus Kiley, and Whistle & Flute chef Stewart Wesson.
They described the new design as an “homage to the ’80s, when pubs were booming”.
But at the end of January liquidators were appointed to the operation, and the Port Admiral Hotel closed again.
Landlord, Sloley, says they hope to have it back open soon, with a new tenant to enhance the local food scene, “without needing to have pokies”.
The demise of the business follows a number of failures in South Australian hospitality after the lockdowns and pandemic disruption, including the historic Hawker Hotel, last month.
The administrators say COVID played a part in the demise of the Admiral, but there will be an investigation into the company’s affairs that will determine all reasons, and what debt is owed to creditors and employees.
