The owners of the Tote Hotel in Collingwood have announced they are putting the beloved live music pub up for sale, as they call time on their tenure.
Owners Sam Crupi and Jon Perring announced on Instagram that after almost 13 years at the helm of the venue that they are putting it up for sale, citing the stresses of covid on the venue, as well as the passing of their business partner Andy Portokallis.
“We signed up to save the Tote once, not expecting to have to do it twice! Especially after we lost our business partner to cancer just before the COVID lockdowns started. It’s time for someone else to take it on with renewed enthusiasm and vision now COVID is behind us. We feel the timing right, ” stated Perring and Crupi.
The trio of business partners revived Tote Hotel six months after then-licenses Andy Milne was forced to close the hotel. Perring and Crupi hope someone else will now take on the Tote, but admit that the famed live music hotel will have to diversify its offering to remain a viable business.
“The Tote needs to broaden its business model to remain relevant in the future. We will be looking favourably at proposals that ensure a live music component including buyers who wish to pursue a mixed development of the property centred around the Hotel. There is plenty of opportunity around the addition of food service to the existing business or by the addition of a brew house.”
For now, Perring and Crupi will continue to run the hotel as is, and are still booking music acts up until June, by which time they hope to have new operators taking on the Tote, when they will actively facilitate a smooth transition.”