Char restaurant building sold after almost a year on the market

THE historic Admiralty House site, which includes up-market Char restaurant, has been bought for $3.3 million with a promise to return the restaurant to the glory days of its Darwin beginning.

THE historic Admiralty House site, which includes up-market Char restaurant, has been bought for $3.3 million with a promise to return the restaurant to the glory days of its Darwin beginning.

The new owners, Hamish and Georgia Brett, are from the Territory’s Waterloo station.

The Brett Cattle Company recently won a Federal Court class action against the Federal Government over a former Labor minister’s snap decision to ban live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011.

Historic Char building hits the market

Chin and Associates director Seth Chin said the purchase is a great new story for Darwin.

“This sale settled yesterday, I have a house in Cullen Bay settling for $2.1 million and I had another in Cullen Bay that settled for $1.9 million … so in total you’re talking $7.3 million in property transacted at one of the Territory’s toughest times,” Mr Chin said.

“So buyers are showing confidence in the market.”

The Admiralty House site, which includes up-market Char restaurant, has been bought for $3.3 million. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

For Char it will be a rebirth with new manager Elle Kearns, who previously owned the popular The Pearl restaurant in the Vic Arcade, now putting in the hard yards for an August opening.

Elle said her priority and that of the Bretts, who celebrated their marriage at Admiralty House, was to return Char to being a Territory icon once again.

“There will be a big focus on returning to the old history of the building while at the same time offering the quality steaks and other menu choices at a much more reasonable price,” she said.

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“The prices have been relatively high previously, but we hope to be able to provide the best quality at the right price. It will still be an up-market restaurant, but there will be some balancing in the pricing to bring it back to where it should be.

“For a long time I think it has been a place where visitors dined and not so much locals. It is about getting locals back in there and returning that ownership of the building to the locals.”

Elle said Char would capitalise on its Esplanade garden setting and patrons would be pleasantly surprised by the changes.

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“It is not going to be just a venue where you turn up to have this formal dinner,” she said.

“You will be able to come for a drink or a cocktail and sit in the lounge areas and enjoy some different offerings.”

Originally published as Char restaurant building sold after almost a year on the market