Double Barrel and Panwa Thai on Ocean Street both up for sale

Owners of two longstanding businesses in Maroochydore’s Ocean St night-life precinct have revealed why they’ve decided it’s time to sell up.

Ongoing clean-ups after revellers and shifting family dreams have triggered the pending sale of two longstanding businesses in a Maroochydore night-life precinct.

Panwa Thai Restaurant and The Double Barrel Bar, both on Ocean St, have both hit the market but for very different reasons.

Panwa Thai owner Anong Wongduean, known as Zip, said she was moving on mostly due to the cumulative effects of the night-life on the street, having operated the restaurant since 2014.

She said she was ready to move on after regularly mopping up the aftermath of partygoers outside her shop.

Ms Wongduean, 51, said the street was quiet when she first opened, which suited her restaurant’s family-friendly, calm environment, but had slowly become rowdier as more venues popped up.

Panwa Thai Restaurant owner Anong Wongduean. Picture: Asa Andersen.

While she loved her restaurant and learning from surrounding businesses, she said she was “happy” to leave and planned to open a new restaurant somewhere peaceful.

Across the road and The Double Barrel Bar owner Michael Valencour said he was also cashing in after initial plans for the bar changed.

“I don’t want to sell the business, but I have no choice,” he said.

Mr Valencour, 53, opened the bar up with his son in August 2018.

The Double Barrel Bar owner Michael Valencour. Picture: Asa Andersen.

Mr Valencour planned to hand over the reins to his son and work part-time at the venue after moving to an inland town more than an hour away from the business last year.

While he still enjoyed a good relationship with his son, Mr Valencour said their plan fell through when his son moved a “long way” from the pub, meaning he had to manage the business alone full-time from afar.

Mr Valencour said he had to sell it because it had proven too difficult, despite sleeping at the pub twice a week for about eight months to cut down on travel costs.

“It’s very, very sad … it’s my baby,” he said.

While his business was successful, Mr Valencour looked forward to living at his new home and water skiing.

Maroochydore Chamber of Commerce president Brendan Bathersby said Ocean Street was a “fantastic” venue for businesses and had become a household name in the past 15 years after it was “rejuvenated” by the Sunshine Coast Council.

He said the street’s pub scene was an“obvious caution”, but its popularity played into the hands of pubs, bars, and other entertainment venues.

Originally published as Double Barrel and Panwa Thai on Ocean Street both up for sale