By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
Goodtime Hospitality operators Locky Paech and James Bodel have added a second venue to their portfolio with the purchase of the East Village hotel in Darlinghurst.
The four-storey, inner-city pub is the second acquisition for the new hospitality group, which launched West Village in Petersham in 2015. The purchase of the East Village was handled by John Manenti of Manenti, Quinlan & Associates, after the Goodtime Hospitality operators had had their eyes on the Darlinghurst venue for quite a while.
Paech admits that purchasing a second venue would normally not have been on the cards for another couple of months, but that they could not let the opportunity pass.
“We were looking at it before The White Cockatoo [now the West Village]. It was just good timing and we were really excited. We got a good price, and it was a good time to buy for sure.”
What also appealed to Paech and Bodel was the pub’s locality.
“The little area that we’re in – even though I still classify it as in the city because it’s so close – it is still a neighbourhood kind of pub and we will approach it that way. Similarly to pubs I’ve run in the past in Surry Hills and Redfern, there’s just a lot more foot traffic which inevitably makes them accessible to a lot of people. So, we’ll still definitely bring out the ethos of a neighbourhood pub to the table, we’ll just treat it a little bit differently because we are so centralised for that city crowd,” said Paech.
Goodtime Hospitality will be doing a full overhaul of the East Village venue before re-opening in spring this year. To help with the renovations, Alexander & Co, who renovated West Village, have been brought on once more.
“The building is a heritage building, so we are going for a more classic aesthetic. The front bar has pressed tin ceilings as well and beautiful tile work. So we’re definitely going to feature that in the renovations throughout the whole building,” explained Paech.
Meanwhile, having only operated for six months, West Village – which has been very popular with locals – will continue to grow.
“We’re totally happy with where the venue is sitting performance wise, so it’s just about refining that now. Making sure we put on enough events and try and battle the quieter times throughout the year that everyone has to go through."
Between adding to the West Village offering and beginning a new chapter with East Village, there’s plenty happening for the relatively new Sydney pub group.
“We’re going to have a super busy 2016, that’s for sure," Paech added.