Newtown Hotel to reopen

Newtown Hotel to reopen

The City of Sydney has approved redevelopment plans for the Newtown Hotel and the owners have obtained a liquor licence, with online speculation suggesting the venue could reopen before the end of the year.

However all indications are that the hotel will not reopen as a gay venue.

Building owners Newtown Colonial Hotel Pty Ltd have ignored all requests for comment from GLBT media since November 2007 when hotel staff arrived to find themselves locked out of the venue and security guards posted inside after the then licensee David McHugh attempted to renegotiate the lease.

The dispute went to court in 2008, with Newtown Colonial Hotel that year publishing a Liquor Social Impact Assessment statement in this paper as part of attempts to obtain a liquor licence of its own for the venue — its sole attempt to engage with the GLBT community since the hotel’s closing.

The Star Observer has since learned from the Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing that the licence for the hotel was transferred from McHugh to Newtown Colonial Hotel Pty Ltd in November last year under the name Helen Kritikos.

Attempts to reach Ms Kritikos through her lawyers were made four times this week and written questions — asking if the hotel would reopen as a gay venue, or if not, whether the hotel would welcome gay customers or be open to gay events being held at the venue — were sent. Calls were not returned and a reply was not forthcoming.

Online speculation has suggested the Newtown Hotel will reopen in some capacity by mid-December, but this could not be substantiated.

Before its closure the Newtown Hotel was the oldest continuously-running gay venue in NSW, having been opened as a gay bar by business identity Dawn O’Donnell in the early 1980s.

However, historical notes that were submitted to council with the development application by Newtown Colonial Hotel make no mention of its three decades of significance to the GLBT community.

Under the $3 million redevelopment plan the building will have a colonial-style wrap around balcony installed in place of awnings.

Newtown Colonial Hotel had originally sought to raise the capacity of the venue from 603 to 776 patrons. However, this was denied by council, as was an application for operating hours of 10am to midnight seven days a week.

Instead the venue will operate from 10am to 10pm seven days under a trial period of 12 months, with non-trial hours of 10am to 8pm.

Seymour Butz, a former DJ at the Newtown Hotel and long-time Newtown local, said he had said goodbye to the hotel a few years ago.

“It was sold to straight owners, and basically our community needs were betrayed for a corporation’s financial interests,” he told the Star Observer.

“Still, it is disappointing that the amount of gay venues hasn’t increased, even with the new licences being granted in the city.

“It is time we open our own spaces and are able to determine what we do and how we do it. There is in the community the financial ability to afford to make it happen.

“I and many of my brothers and sisters have the energy and spirit to support such a venture. Pretty please lets make this happen.”

You May Also Like

17 responses to “Newtown Hotel to reopen”

  1. I attended the new Newtown Hotel last Tuesday night (18 January) with my partner and several friends to celebrate my birthday and to check out the new decor. Approximately 15 minutes after I had completed consuming my first scotch and coke I went up to the bar and asked for another scotch. The American/Canadian accented bar man refused to serve me another drink as he said I appeared intoxicated. I then asked why he thought I was intoxicated and he informed me that my eyes looked very heavy. I explained to him in a very articulate manner that I suffer from blepharitis and have been receiving treatment for it for the past 3 years.

    He then said to me and one of my friends that that was not the reason, but that it was because he had been watching my mannerisms since entering the bar 15 minutes earlier. He said I was wobbling. This was really strange to me as from my memory, at 9.25pm when I arrived; I went straight to the toilet whilst my partner bought me a drink. For the next 12 minutes I had been sitting down at a table near the bar chatting with my friend and enjoying my drink and the atmosphere, not wobbling around the bar.

    As it was obvious that I could not prove to the bar man that I wasn’t drunk I asked him if I could speak to the manager. Guess what? He was the manager. I knew at that point that no matter what I said, there was no way he was going to change his mind, so my partner, friends and I left and headed to the Imperial. Guess what, we stayed at the Imperial for a few hours, consumed several more alcoholic beverages and we had no problems with the staff at all.

    On reflection, I really believe that the new Newtown is trying to become a straight pub. The only way we can ensure it doesn’t happen is for us as the GLBTQI people of Sydney is to make sure that we continue to patron it every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in huge numbers . Otherwise, if we don’t do this, it will become a straight venue and we will again lose another part of our history.

  2. What are the prices like??? I guess like most places $4.50 to $5.50 a schooner of local beer.

    I think the Decor is like a $2 shop has exploded. Tacky, yet Fun. I will be going to “Freaky Tiki” @ The Newtown Hotel this weekend.

    Wish me luck Boys and Grrrls.

  3. QUOTE: for one think that theese new “Mixed” pubs and bars are not a good thing… yeah they might be a great place for people of all different communitites to hang out but there arent any shows or camp music… we are loosing the gay identity… and even though change is good.. we need to keep it alive somewhere… thankfully places like the flinders, taxi club, palms, and the midnight shift are still open to play camp gay songs and have drag shows on.
    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    you want to split hairs, the Taxi club is a tranny bar historically and we want to have our own space.

    Familiar? Doesn’t work right, I am trans and I want to see it get all mixed up. I like the mixed scene. I get tired of stale old cliche drag acts and GAY anthems.

    Some of us actually like live music. What about catering to the queer community at lardge rather then just the gay community. I think scene queens are a little spoiled and over catered to. You want to be ghettoised for the rest of your lives.

    I’m all for change and social progression not marginalisation. Camp is fun but not all the time.

    BTW Taxi Club gets a hell of a lot of straight men ;)

  4. Im employed under the company who are reopening the Newtown Hotel. The company have a huge range of venues from historical pubs in the rocks, clubs such as cargo, cocktail bars like loft and wine bars as well (gazebo wineries).
    They certainly know that they are doing.

    The men who run Keystone Hospitality are all young, non pretentious guys, although straight far from being homophobic. All of the Keystone venues are very open to gay people and having a larger company running a venue such as the Newtown hotel could only be a success.

    I’m very excited I myself am a Newtown local and i look at bars like the Baresford who this year was reopened by Justin Hemmes grp and sundays at the Baresford have never been so amazing.

  5. With friends still getting called “Fag” in the street (yes, even in Newtown) I think a gay venue is a necessity.

  6. It’s a rubbish Tiki bar now and word is, in six months, it will be an obnoxious super pub combing the two neighbouring buildings as part of the pub… Gay, straight or whatever a half a block super pub was never Newtown, still isn’t Newtown and should never be Newtown. Newtown is great because it’s a mingled area. I love Newtown because I can go anywhere be it on the pull or just chilling with my straight friends. I see this super pub as the begining of the end for Newtown. It doesn’t fit in. Now it’s a big pub, soon it’s full of lads and rev heads trying to meet women and abusing us for being who we are. Keep the Newtown Hotel as it is, forget the Newtown super pub.

  7. I miss the Newtown Hotel and the amazing nights Vanessa Wagner, Ben Drayton and Seymour Butz used to run there. Here’s hoping this current state of affair will only improve.
    Thanks for highlighting this Star Observer!

  8. I don’t think any venue called “Newtown Hotel” should exclude anyone. Think about it, the name of the place is the name of the suburb, and it’s in the heart of Newtown. It should be open for everyone, not just a skanky reserve for gays.

  9. Mixed bars are all well and good but a “Gay Bar” is important to the GLBT Community like a Greek Club is to the Greek Community. It’s not about discrimation or seperation but about having safe places where we can maintain our sense of community and openly be ourselves.

    Newtown has always had a fairly large queer community, it’s a shame that it is so under-catered for as far as establishments such as the Newtown Hotel are concerned.

  10. I for one think that theese new “Mixed” pubs and bars are not a good thing… yeah they might be a great place for people of all different communitites to hang out but there arent any shows or camp music… we are loosing the gay identity… and even though change is good.. we need to keep it alive somewhere… thankfully places like the flinders, taxi club, palms, and the midnight shift are still open to play camp gay songs and have drag shows on.

  11. Stuff Oxford street its a bloody hole there to much homophobes there and to many queens I have no time for queens they make me sick all they do is back stab people and walk around thinking their the best..Dont get me wrong if someone wants to be a queen I’m happy for them but I personally wouldn’t be friends with one. Newtown is the best and isn’t full of queens and doesn’t have so much homophobes like Oxford street. Aaron if you like Oxford street why don’t you just stay there then.

  12. I’m gay and have lived in Newtown for close to fifteen years and I mostly drink at the grungier “straight” venues around the area because thats where my friends are and I prefer the music there.

    I rarely come across any homophobic attitudes in those venues however I would never try to pick a guy up at one of those venues unless they were really obviously gay (and that’s generally not the kind of guy I go for) and I wouldn’t feel comfortable pashing a guy there either.

    As much as I don’t “get” the scene it is a relief to have a place that you can walk into and if you see a cute guy, know that he’s gay, or if you hit it off or you’re on a date, kiss them without worrying that somebody is going to be offended so for that reason we do still need places like the Newtown Hotel in Newtown.

  13. I read this article this morning walking along King Street this morning and managed to see inside the pub when the doors were open briefly and I felt inclined to add my two cents worth after reading both Seymour’s comments and now seeing what Aaron has to say about the situation online.

    First his claim that the pub was sold to straights years ago: The pub (the building itself) has been owned by the same family for over 35 years. These people then leased the building to operators. The longest lessee was Dawn O’Donnell. Dawn owned the license on the pub, but she never owned the building. She sold the license and the remaining term on the lease to David McHugh and the guys who owned and ran Columbian and Kinsella’s.

    As for Seymour’s comments of ‘“Still, it is disappointing that the amount of gay venues hasn’t increased, even with the new licences being granted in the city.

    “It is time we open our own spaces and are able to determine what we do and how we do it. There is in the community the financial ability to afford to make it happen.

    “I and many of my brothers and sisters have the energy and spirit to support such a venture. Pretty please let’s make this happen.”’

    Well Seymour you know people have you asked any of them to help you start a bar or is this something that other people should do so that ‘we’ can go to it when ‘they’ open it for you/us?

    The other side of the coin are Aaron’s statements on this page.

    Aaron you state that Newtown is so inclusive these days with The Bank et al that there is no longer any need for a gay bar. Having lived in Newtown since 1993 I can say that I don’t think that it is any more inclusive now than it was 17 years ago when I moved from Brisbane.

    The straight bars are not comfortable with gay guys or lesbians displaying affection towards one another and The Bank is hardly a paragon of inclusiveness with their ‘one gay day per week’ attitude and the sometimes open homophobia of their bouncers and door staff.

    Having said that, it is not a requirement that any business provide a venue to the GLBTQ communities just because we patronised the venue for 25 years (not the 3 decades that Andrew claims) nor should it be.

    The Newtown existed as a gay venue because we patronised it and made the owners money and that is the only reason that gay venues still exist in Darlinghurst and Erskineville. If the only people who patronise the New Newtown are the GLBTQ then we can have our pub back, if we don’t go there then we will have lost another venue.

    I for one will be drinking there when they reopen come Hell or High Water. It’s my pub and I am going home when it opens.

    Who’s with me?

  14. Sorry Aaron, I think you’re the one out of touch. Of course Newtown isn’t Darlinghurst. It never was and no one ever wanted it to be. That’s the appeal. In case you haven’t noticed there are fewer and fewer gay venues in Sydney. We don’t want segregation, we just miss the variety. And ‘oldschool mentality’ or not, I’m sure most of us frequent a venue simply because we like it. Nothing deeper than that. If I was self-absorbed to the point of looking for “somewhere I feel reflects my general lifestyle” I think I’d end up very disappointed.

  15. God, some of you are out of touch. Newtown isn’t Darlinghurst. There is a breakdown of the division between “straight” and “gay” venues, as places such as The Bank – just about any bar or pub there, really – show. THIS IS A GOOD THING. Segregation is not. We should be welcoming that in areas like these there are no “community needs” to have a segregated venue. The general community in Newtown spreads to a much younger demo, and they do not feel the need to hang in outwardly gay bars, because they would rather integrate (as in Newtown there is no need not to do so). The older ones too ingrained with oldschool mentality have The Imperial. Enjoy that and stop whinging. I don’t want another gaybar in Newtown, I want somewhere I feel reflects my general lifestyle… one where I am not pointlessly bound by some silly “need” to only interact with other gay guys. You speak about “the community”, but really you only speak about/to one very segmented part of it.