The Pickled Possum: Famed 44-year-old Neutral Bay bar for sale for $3m
The future of a late night hangout for dedicated drinkers, carousers, karaoke singers and celebrities on Sydney’s lower north shore is in limbo as the “for sale” sign goes up.
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It’s been the late night hangout for dedicated drinkers, carousers and karaoke singers on Sydney’s lower north shore for close to 45 years.
For those who wanted to kick on after the pubs shut their doors, The Pickled Possum bar on the main drag at Neutral Bay is always an option to keep the party going.
Its dedicated patrons love its retro vibe, mirrored walls, cosy dance floor – and even its perennially sticky carpets.
And it wasn’t just locals who loved the piano bar, the old photos plastered on the walls, $10 steak nights and “happy hour”.
Big name celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman and Delta Goodrem have had a brush with “The Possum”, which always signals last orders around 1.30am with the classic song American Pie.
It was at its height of popularity through the ‘80s, when one former Mosman mayor used to sing Frank Sinatra songs around the piano and the venue was famed for serving drinks from eskys.
But now the future of the hangout on Military Rd, which opened in 1981 and got its name from the possums that used to hang over the door frames in the hope of being fed carrots and lettuce by patrons, is cloudy.
The Pickled Possum, and the building it’s in, is for sale after its controlling companies were placed into receivership. It is being offered for sale next month and may end up forming part of an amalgamated development site.
Leading pub brokerage HTL Property has been appointed to sell, under instructions from receivers, and the site is being offered to market, with a price guide of $3m, via an expression of interest campaign that closes on August 5.
The sale comes just four years after it reopened after an 18-month hiatus during Covid.
John Oseckas and Margurite Smith owned and operated the bar for 40 years.
In 2002 they decided to buy the two-storey building the bar is in for $913,000. They sold it in 2021 for $2.09m when they retired.
The building was bought by Robert Patterson who tried to get approval in 2023 for a 78-room boarding house, with the bar still operating at street level. But North Sydney Council knocked back that development application last year.
However, there’s good news for patrons. The bar is still open and still has a rare extended trading hour approval – 2am from Monday to Saturday.
The existing tenant and business – which have no links to the receivership – continue to operate the bar on a “month to month tenancy” and is keen to keep The Possum going, if the new owner is happy to negotiate a new lease.
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Originally published as The Pickled Possum: Famed 44-year-old Neutral Bay bar for sale for $3m
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