Cheers to our old pubs in the Adelaide ‘burbs that are growing up
SOME of Adelaide’s oldest and best-loved pubs in the ‘burbs are being transformed from old-fashioned drink spots to sophisticated dining and entertainment venues. We look at the changing face of nine.
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WHEN Piers Schmidt saw a for sale sign outside Parkside’s Earl of Leicester pub, the city hotelier sensed his chance had arrived.
After more than 15 years spent pouring his time, money and energy into the “highly competitive” CBD hospitality scene — where pubs, restaurants and, now, small bars fight for every pint (and parmi) — Mr Schmidt wanted to buy into the ’burbs and, in turn, bring a historic establishment into the 21st century.
Mr Schmidt bought the Leicester St watering hole in June from its long-time owners, Ian and Monica Carter, and started work on a $700,000 upgrade.
There are plans to link the 1850s-built pub’s separated dining areas, expand the bar and refit a “tired” beer garden with new furniture and TVs.
The hotel’s trademark 600gm schnitzel will remain, but the menu — mostly a selection of traditionally-cooked and presented pub grub — will be replaced with “modern, sophisticated” takes on old favourites.
“It is a different market in the suburbs, a different, more relaxed feel,” said Mr Schmidt, whose Preston Hotels group has overseen revamps at the city’s Union Hotel, Hotel Tivoli and The Cumberland Arms since the early 2000s.
“I see this as an opportunity … to provide a niche product, largely centred around quality food, that possibly has not been available in the area before.”
The Earl of Leicester is the latest in a lengthening line of pubs across the region that are investing millions to tap into a growing thirst for modern drinking and dining venues set in relaxed, suburban surrounds.
Where the local haunt was once frequented mostly by men, the new age pub — or the “modern-day church”, as Mr Schmidt half-jokingly calls it — is serving it up to all.
“We want to attract pensioners, we want to sponsor sports clubs and we are planning to have DJs and live music on the weekends,” Mr Schmidt said.
A short walk from Leicester St, The Parkside Hotel — formerly The Fountain Inn — is being refurbished with three new outdoor dining areas, a new kitchen and children’s play areas.
Last year, the old Boho Bar was fit with a rooftop beer garden and relaunched as The Unley, while The Republic and Bath Hotel, both in Norwood, and the Kent Town Hotel have undergone six-figure renovations in the past two years to attract new customers.
Magill’s Tower Hotel is expected to reveal its new look next month.
Arguably the most significant undertaking has been at The Feathers Hotel, which reopened in June after a $4 million redevelopment.
Refurbishment of Burnside’s only pub included a new 400-person capacity terrace bar and dining room.
Owner Shaun Matthews said the upgrade was designed to ensure the establishment kept pace with its competitors, which now included small bars in the CBD.
“You just have to keep up with the Joneses, really,” Mr Matthews said.
“With all the small bars, it is a no-brainer that you have to keep up with the trends and to the standard that people expect these days.”
Mr Matthews said the newest addition to his family’s vast hotel portfolio, The Maylands Hotel, would also be redeveloped in line with “modern expectations”.
“It will again be a boutique pub with top-notch quality,” he said of plans which were yet to be submitted to Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council.
Australian Hotels Association SA general manager Ian Horne said the “significant” investment in eastern and inner southern pubs was a reflection of Adelaide’s “highly competitive” hospitality market.
“A pub can no longer be a drinking house. It has to be a cafe, and a dining and entertainment venue,” Mr Horne said.
“The consumers are so much better informed than their parents were and if a pub does not meet those expectation then they will go somewhere else.
“It is a commercial reality that if that happens, the place will go bust.”
Mr Horne expected that while suburban pubs would always evolve, they would continue to stand as a mirror to their surrounds.
“While often we have new ideas and concepts, pubs — historically and today — are a reflection of their community,” he said.
“A pub that is out of step or out of touch … will simply not survive.”
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