The leasehold for iconic venue The Sly Fox Hotel in the Sydney suburb of Enmore has been sold.
New owner Ged Dore knows the Inner West area well, recently acquiring the Henson Park Hotel in Marrickville and Salisbury Hotel in Stanmore too. His history is entwined with the success of the Four Pines Brewery and operations at some of Sydney’s biggest hotels like Hotel Steyne in Manly and Beach Road Hotel in Bondi.
The Sly Fox sale was negotiated exclusively off market by HTL Property’s Sam Handy and Dan Dragicevich on behalf of commercial property investor Shadd Danesi, whose Sydney portfolio includes Darlinghurst’s ARQ nightclub.
The property features 15 poker machines, extended trading hours and 13 accommodation rooms. Dore is reported to be considering activating a low-energy community focused pub operation in the space.
“Our Vendor’s brief was to secure him a quality tenant which would be able to build a sustainable business model in concert with both the local community, and the framework required by Council,” said Handy, HTL Property Director.
“Given Ged’s experience and pedigree with community based hospitality activations, we feel satisfied that we’ve delivered upon the required brief.”
This direction is quite a change from the 24 hour club-style venue that once inhabited the space. The former leasehold owners of the Sly Fox closed the doors earlier this year, after a lengthy battle with Inner West Council ended with an independent panel decision in December to limit operating hours to midnight, extending until 3am on a trial basis.
The Sly Fox had been operating 24 hours a day since 1998, when they received a temporary Development Consent from the council. In 2016, it was found that consent had been lapsed for years, but the council permitted the continuation of the hours as long as amplified music ceased at 3am, however this stance was changed during the last Sly Fox application for 24 hour trade. The old owners said the restricted hours impeded their peak late night times and ultimately made the decision to close because of that.