The Pickled Possum goes into receivership

An Aussie bar popular with a range of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, has gone into receivership. Now its future can be revealed.

Chris Hemsworth is known to have been a patron of The Pickled Possum in his younger days. Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.

Neutral Bay’s famed karaoke bar The Pickled Possum is in receivership, being offered next month for about $2.5m and may form part of an amalgamated development site.

Named after the possums that used to hang over the door frames in the hope of being fed carrots and lettuce by patrons, The Pickled Possum on Military Rd was the go-to bar after the pubs closed, a local institution and something of a rite of passage for the young, the musical and late-night revellers.

It wasn’t just locals who loved the piano bar, the old photos plastered on the walls and $10 steak nights.

Big names such as Janet Jackson, a young Chris Hemsworth and singer Su Cruickshank visited the bar, which signalled last orders around 1.30am with the song American Pie.

MORE: Deal boosted Aussie’s home by $7m

The Military Rd, Neutral Bay site is being offered to market via an expression of interest campaign closing August 5.

It was at its height in the 1980s, one former mayor used to sing Frank Sinatra songs around the piano and the late-night venue was famed for serving drinks from eskys.

Leading pub brokerage HTL Property has been appointed to steer the sale process under instructions from receivers, and the site is being offered to market via an expression of interest campaign closing August 5. A figure of about $2.5m is anticipated.

The business at 254 Military Rd was owned for 40 years by John Oseckas and Margurite Smith who ran it for 40 years.

They bought the premises, a two-storey building on 164sqm of land in 2002 for $913,000 and sold it in 2021 for $2,095,000 when they retired.

The Pickled Possum, as seen on social media, was the place to be in its heyday.

The building was bought by Robert Patterson who tried to get approval for a 78-room boarding house on the strip, including at 254 Military Rd.

North Sydney Council refused the application late last year.

The venue still has a rare extended trading hour approval and is licensed to trade until 2:00am between Monday and Saturday.

The current tenant is keen to stay if the new owner is an investor happy to negotiate a new lease.

Agents Sam Handy, Andrew Jolliffe and Ben Kennedy of HTL Property indicate that the site will appeal to a broad range of hospitality buyers including hoteliers, restaurateurs, craft beer brewers and even spirits distillers.

It’s expected the bar will appeal to a broad range of hospitality buyers.

“We have had intense interest from several different buyer segments,” director Sam Handy said.

“And it’s not only the sentimentality that is attached to it, but also its compelling underlying land, building and business fundamentals,” he added.

In addition, possible plans and architectural commentaries have been carried out for an amalgamated site and are available for prospective purchasers to examine.

MORE:

Celebrity divorces exposed

Originally published as The Pickled Possum goes into receivership