Iconic Sydney Queer Venue ‘The Imperial Hotel’, Is Going Up For Sale
Image: Bidgee/Wikimedia Commons
Iconic Sydney LGBTQ+ institution, ‘The Imperial Hotel’ has announced it is going up for sale, following almost eight years of operation under its current owners.
Serving customers since 1983, the Erskineville venue came to fame following an extended appearance in the historic Australian queer film ‘The Adventures of Priscila: Queen of The Desert’.
Future Uncertain
Owners Fraser Short and Scott Leach confirmed the listing with the Sydney Morning Herald, discussing how while it was going to be on the market an expected price was not being disclosed.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens,” Short said.
Elaborating on the reason for the sale, Short expressed his desire to move out of the pub sector and focus on more personal endeavors. The entrepreneur has been slowly offloading a number of pubs he has owned over the past year.
“[People have] made me really good [offers] which allowed me to take some money off the table and focus on being a better dad,” he told the Australian Financial Review.
“Running this business is a seven days a week job. I’m almost 50. My late dad, Warwick, a successful publican, was only 60 when he died.”
Short and Leach first purchased the Imperial in 2015, spending $6.5 million on its initial acquisition. At that time the venue had been struggling, closed indefinitely after facing difficulties with managing regulations, patrons, and newly implemented ‘lockout’ laws that had come into effect across Sydney’s CBD.
The pair would work to invest a further $6 million on the pub in the following years, moving towards restoration, expansion, and revitalization in time for a grand reopening in 2018.
A Venue For All
Discussing the original renovations, Short envisioned a venue open to all – free from exclusivity and labels.
“The Imperial has always and will always be a huge pillar of strength and vision of evolution in the local and LGBTIQ community– so we wanted to make sure we pay our respects to the past and continue the legacy for the new generations to come,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2018.
“But we welcome everybody, that is the beauty of restoring a pub like this in Sydney’s inner west, with a melting pot of demographics.”
It is ultimately these ideas of preserving an inclusive legacy and maintaining an accessible, friendly atmosphere that will raise the most questions in the lead-up to potential sales. What will the Imperial look like under its new, potential owners?
