Adelaide pub favourite The Lion reopens with new owners and fresh look
Adelaide pub favourite The Lion, has reopened after the COVID shutdown with new owners and a fresh new look. SEE INSIDE.
Food & Wine
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North Adelaide’s iconic Lion Hotel reopens this weekend with new owners and a “refreshed” look.
It comes just six weeks after Duxton Pubs Group, formed by high-profile hoteliers Brett Matthews, Martin Palmer and Ed Peter, received the keys to the heritage-listed venue, which has been closed since the statewide shutdown of restaurants due to COVID-19 in March.
In that time, the group has refurbished elements of the venue with contemporary furnishings, greenery and more natural light in its Melbourne St bar and courtyard.
Mr Palmer said The Lion was critical to the success of Melbourne St – a sentiment echoed by Adelaide City Council.
“We see the reopening of The Lion as being the anchorpoint of a resurgence of retail activity all along Melbourne Street,” he said.
MORE: Lion owners plan to buy 10-15 more pubs across South Australia
“It’s always had such a great reputation and to be able to retain that and to be aspirational to enhance that, is a challenge.”
The Lion’s Melbourne Cup events, advertised on social media, are already sold-out.
The Group has not disclosed the cost of the renovations nor purchase price for the hotel, however industry sources were reported as saying it could fetch up to $17 million.
The Lion joins a string of venues collectively owned, or partially-owned, by the Group’s members, including Stirling Hotel, Uraidla Hotel, Crafers Hotel, 2KW Bar & Restaurant, Paloma Bar and Pantry and, most recently, Fishbank in the former Jamie’s Italian restaurant site.
Mr Palmer said the opportunity to take on the historic venue was “compelling”.
“Having been in hospitality in Adelaide for nearly 30 years, The Lion has always been held up as the iconic pub in Adelaide,” he said.
The Lion’s former restaurant, which had offered a more sophisticated menu, has been renamed The Bistro, and offers the same food throughout the venue with head chef Jason Chambers back in the kitchen.
By the end of the next week, the hotel will be offering daily breakfast.
Structural renovations are on the cards, “but we don’t want to jump in without making sure we understand all the nuances of the venue”, Mr Palmer said.
“The complexities of the venue are pretty significant,” he said, referring to the different rooms and underground tunnels.
The Lion Hotel first opened in 1881 with a brewery and cellars. Its most previous owners, Tim Gregg and Andrew Svencis, owned and operated the venue from 1996 until July this year, when ownership was transferred to the Duxton Pubs Group.
