It’s been a big year within pubs news – everything from long-held, legacy pubs changing hands, new groups forming, renovations and new offers within venues. A lot has happened in the past 12 months, so here’s a look back at the top five stories that have resonated with our readership this year.
In September it was revealed that Kickon Group had acquired the Doutta Galla Hotel in Flemington. It’s the first pub acquisition for the group in that area of Melbourne, which is now temporarily closed as it undergoes a renovation. The pub is expected to open towards the end of the first quarter of 2025.
2. Public Hospitality Group restructures
It’s been a difficult year for the Jon Adgemis-led hospitality group Public Hospitality. Rumours of financial troubles had been swirling since late 2023, and in June this year it was revealed that the group had undergone refinancing and restructuring. However, since then the group’s debtors have placed a number of its venues under administration and sold off others. It was recently announced that Solotel has taken on the operations of three of its inner-Sydney venues.
3. New owners of the Quiet Man Irish Pub go back to their roots
While stories about big pub groups tend to dominate our news cycle, it was surprising to see a much smaller hospo outfit take out the third spot of our most-read stories this year. But reading about two Irish business partners buying a Melbourne pub twenty years on from cooking and playing gigs in it, you can’t help but enjoy reading such a feel-good story.
On a much sadder note, this year we bade farewell to Mario Volpe, former managing director of ALH Hotels, who passed away following a long illness. Volpe was a passionate leader within hospitality, who started with ALH in the 1980s as a glassy at his local tavern in Western Australia. Volpe worked his way up through the national organisation to the leading role, and was beloved and well respected by many in the industry.
5. Laundy Hotels acquires the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel
In August it was announced that Laundy Hotels had acquired the famed Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel in The Rocks. The brewpub has been owned by Blair Hayden and his business partners since 1986, helping pioneer the independent craft brewery scene in Australia. In recognition of his efforts, Hayden was this year named as Best Publican at the Australian Liquor Industry Awards. As part of the deal, not only have Laundy Hotels taken on the pub, but they’ve also acquired the famed Lord Nelson Beer brand.
Thank you for joining us at Australian Hotelier this year. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about the goings-on of the national pub industry this year. This will be our final newsletter of the year, but we’ll be back on Thursday 30 January with more stories to inform and inspire. In the meantime, the team at Australian Hotelier wishes you safe and happy holidays!