Mona Vale Hotel to reopen as The Park House, says hotelier Fraser Short
A two-year, five-stage, multi-million dollar redevelopment will see the iconic Mona Vale Hotel rebranded and reopened as The Park House.
Manly
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HOTELIER Fraser Short has unveiled plans for an iconic northern beaches pub.
The two-year, five-stage $12 million redevelopment will see Mona Vale Hotel rebranded as Park House Food & Liquor.
“We are setting out to re-engage the community by offering them a hub to socialise,” Mr Short said.
“We don’t run nightclubs and that’s what the Mona Vale Hotel had become. We see it as a local treasure — the site has been in desperate need of a reimagining.”
The new name tied in with the venue’s location in the heart of Mona Vale, Mr Short said.
Park House would have a mix of restaurants, a cafe, pop-up markets, food trucks, event spaces, cocktail bars, a brew bar and various garden spaces that would cater for 2000 people onsite, he said.
A craft beer bar, Front Yard Brews & Burgers, would follow in December, a carpark food truck concept in January and party and event space in 2018.
The Short family and the Laundy family bought the northern beaches hotel, along with Northies in North Cronulla for more than $50 million in 2014.
Both owners said that they had spent two years on the design and had worked closely with the community.
“A big focus we have is on saving the site from property developers,” Mr Short said.
“It’s an icon that dates back to 1925, when it was the Old Rex Motel. Over the years it’s been a local institution, a rite of passage, and a place that many have grown up in.”
The rebranded venue will sport an industrial and contemporary redesign rather than a beachy fitout.
Stage one, Park House Food Merchants, the warehouse-style food facility opening to a courtyard, will serve on trend, healthy food influenced by Southern California, Mexico, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as vegetarian options.
Park House Food Merchants is scheduled to open on October 29.
The Park House is the third peninsula pub to undergo redevelopment. Merivale added The Collaroy to its beaches portfolio in August. The beachfront pub will reopen in time for summer once it has been reworked along the lines of Coogee Pavilion.
The up-market restaurant will be Merivale’s next major project at The Newport.