AusHotels has divested its long-held and revolutionary Archive Beer Boutique to an acquisitive Quinn Hotels, as Jackson Quinn heads north.
Archive Beer Boutique (ABB) is a multi-level watering hole in Brisbane’s West End that has become renowned as a craft beer pioneer. It incorporates a main food and beverage offering, and the function-based Loft Bar operation on the upper floor.
The 1,335sqm site on Boundary Street is part of the West End’s premier entertainment corridor, opposite the billion-dollar West Village residential development. It holds a commercial late trading 2am liquor licence, and option of three detached bottleshops.
Brisbane-based publican Jim Davies’ AusHotels has operated it for almost 17 years, and recently executed a million-dollar renovation on the ground floor. The group first put the leasehold to market early 2021, with hopes for sale price around $5 million.
Thirty-seven-year-old Quinn sold the Australian Hotel in Ballina mid-2022, and the ABB marks the group’s first Queensland acquisition. Noting support from Green Finance, which is already a backer of pubs in Australia, Quinn Hotels hopes to establish the ABB as a Brisbane entertainment institution.
“I love Queensland and love Brisbane and I will be working closely with Green Finance Group on the next step we take here,” Quinn said.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed, but sources say it sold for close to the expected price – for a long-term lease with nearly 30 years of tenure remaining (including options).
“We’re delighted that the new operator will take the Archive Beer Boutique to a new level while at the same time ensuring it will continue to be a venue synonymous with offering the best craft beers in Australia,” offered Aushotels’ managing director Jim Davies. The group still operates Springfield’s Orion Hotel and the Exchange Hotel in Kilcoy.
The transaction was brokered by CBRE Hotels’ Paul Fraser, who notes the desirability of the precinct and city, ahead of Brisbane’s upcoming major events.
“The tightly held nature of core West End entertainment establishments coupled with this asset’s size, scale, versatility and long tenure meant it was a compelling acquisition for the incoming owner,” says Fraser.
“Given the abundance of infrastructure investment and projects currently underway in Brisbane combined with continued strong population growth and migration levels, we expect investor interest in inner-city offerings such as the Archive Beer Boutique to remain strong through 2023.”
