Iconic Port Adelaide pub closes its doors after falling into liquidation

Liquidators have closed the doors of an iconic Port Adelaide pub five years after a $1m revamp.

Iconic Port Adelaide pub the Port Admiral Hotel has closed its doors after liquidators were appointed to wind up the venue five years after a $1m revamp and revival.

The collapse follows a string of business failures in the state’s hospitality industry, which is struggling to bounce back from the lockdowns and disruption caused by Covid.

The 174-year-old Port Admiral Hotel reopened in 2017 following a $1m renovation led by property owners Alison Sloley and Adam Freeman, and tenant Port Local, under hospitality entrepreneurs Crispian Fielke, Angus Henderson and Stewart Wesson.

It had been closed for 10 years prior.

The appointment of liquidators on Monday night puts the venue’s future in doubt once again, but liquidator Anthony Phillips from Heard Phillips Lieberenz is hopeful a buyer can be found to rescue the historic pub and the jobs of 12 employees.

The Port Admiral Hotel after its renovation. Picture: Mike Burton

“We’re certainly looking at opportunities to reopen the doors as soon as we can, and trying to find someone to come in and restructure the business,” he said.

“I have been speaking to a number of people who are currently looking at the hotel as a business to potentially buy and reopen.

“My focus for now is maintaining the infrastructure of the business to effect a transaction.”

Mr Phillips said Covid had played a part in the pub’s demise, and an investigation into the company’s affairs would uncover other reasons for its closure and the level of debts owed to creditors and employees.

The Port Admiral, on the corner of Commercial Rd and St Vincent St, is Port Adelaide’s oldest building with a history dating back to 1849.

Completed in 2017, a $1m makeover of the landmark heritage-listed building – which fell into disrepair and languished derelict for more than a decade – was expected to capitalise on the revitalisation of Port Adelaide.

It included a new front bar, saloon, beer garden, outside terrace and bottle shop.

The Port Local team, including Mr Fielke, the entrepreneur behind city bars Clever Little Tailor and Pink Moon Saloon, and Mr Henderson from nearby restaurant Low & Slow, have been operating the pub since its refurbishment.

Inside the revamped Port Admiral Hotel. Picture: Mike Burton

ASIC records show Mr Fielke and Mr Henderson are the current directors and shareholders of Port Local. Both have been contacted for further comment.

The collapse of the Port Admiral follows a string of hospitality closures in the aftermath of Covid-19, including King William Rd institution Spats Cafe and Hindley St whiskey bar Suzie Wong.

Mr Phillips said it remained a challenging period for the industry.

“There are a lot of businesses in the hospitality space that have a financial position and balance sheet that would reflect the challenges facing many industries,” he said.

“You see several restaurants and hotels that might appear to be doing well but it’s a long way to catch up given the effects of the trading restrictions imposed on businesses during the pandemic.”