Tolarno Hotel sold to local buyer with hospitality past

A local buyer with a hospitality past has bought St Kilda’s historic Tolarno Hotel, set up by cherished Melbourne artist Mirka Mora and her husband Georges in the 60s.

The iconic Tolarno Hotel has been sold to a local buyer with a hospitality past

St Kilda icon the Tolarno Hotel has been sold.

The Fitzroy Street restaurant and hotel, set up by cherished Melbourne artist Mirka Mora and her husband Georges in the 60s, hit the market in January.

The property sold for about $6m in May to a local buyer with existing “interests in the St Kilda area” with historical links to Melbourne’s food and hospitality scene.

The new owners have bought the site’s 37-room hotel, restaurant and bar, but also a slice of Mora’s “enormous” and “significantly valuable” art collection.

The sale of the boutique property attracted significant amount of interest from local and international buyers.

Property agent CBRE, who managed the freehold sale, said they’d received at least eight expressions of interest and about six to eight serious offers.

Senior director of hotels Scott Callow said property had attracted international attention.

“There was a mixture of local and even one overseas party, plus a mixture of pure investors and those already invested in the hospitality and hotel business,” he said.

Mr Callow said the sale would help regenerate the area.

Mirka Mora’s studio was at the Tolarno Hotel.

The Tolarno has been a long-held fixture of Fitzroy Street.

“Given the style of purchaser, they are invested in the local St Kilda area. It’s a positive sign for Tolarno and the future of Fitzroy Street,” he said.

Longtime owners James Fagan and Bernard Corser decided to sell the 968 sqm property freehold after 30 years earlier this year, including the land, building and ‘hundreds’ of paintings adorning the walls.

“(The sale) also includes the restaurant, which is not trading, and a bar. The hotel, with conference spaces, is currently under a long-term lease with rent being paid on that. There is an ability for a new owner to install a new beverage and restaurant offering,” Mr Callow said.

The Tolarno restaurant attracted notable Melbourne chefs and restaurateurs in its prime, including Guy Grossi, Iain Hewitson and Leon Massoni.

Chef Guy Grossi with Mirka Mora.

The French-born Mora was a colourful fixture of Melbourne’s art scene.

The holocaust survivor is known in the modern art scene for her colourful and vibrant paintings, sculptures and mosaic work.

She died in 2018, aged 90.

The Tolarno Hotel’s sale is another promising sign Fitzroy Street may soon shake its seedy reputation.

Hospitality giants Ronald Di Stasio and Mallory Wall are reopening St Kilda’s beloved Cafe Di Stasio, complete with a new art gallery, later this year.

Melbourne chef Karen Martini relaunched the Saint George pub, and Prince Dining Room has shaken up its offering with a new food direction and chef.

The Tolarno Hotel will settle in two months.