Imperial opening closer
The Imperial Hotel could be open in time for Mardi Gras.
In a statement released yesterday, Imperial owner Shadd Danesi said the opening hinged on smooth negotiations with the City of Sydney.
“The Imperial Hotel is working towards opening within a short period of time. It is still endeavouring to work with council in complying with two conditions,” Danesi’s statement read.
“Hence we have found ourselves in court over a technical point and we are attempting to resolve one of those points at the moment.
“We anticipate opening in four to six weeks, subject to council co-operation.”
The latest court appeal follows a meeting at the end of last year where the two parties were unable to settle their differences, despite a court ruling in favour of the hotel.
The Commissioner hearing the matter has asked for written submissions outlining the Imperial’s objections to conditions which the council is seeking to impose on it.
However, Danesi said patrons will be impressed by the new Imperial in the new year.
“We’re still operating three bars, the public bar, the cabaret bar, and the cellar bar, but everything will be on a bigger and better scale,” he told Sydney Star Observer.
“All the amenities have been upgraded — the toilet facilities, air conditioning, the flow of the building.
“All the rooms have been improved in size to accommodate the increase in numbers.
“The cellar now has a mezzanine level running around it. The sound system and lighting system are state-of-the-art.
“The building has been completely soundproofed to stop any noise.”
The Imperial has been closed for more than three years while undergoing a multi-million dollar refurbishment.
To date Danesi has racked up more than $500,000 in legal expenses.
But he is confident the hotel will be open sooner rather than later.
“Now we have our website up and running we will keep you informed as to our opening date,” Danesi said in the written statement.
“Meanwhile, we will be posting more photos of the interior of the Imperial and we are looking forward to seeing you on the opening.”
info: Visit www.theimperialhotel.com.au
INSIDE THE IMPERIAL: Want to see what the inside of the Imperial looks like now? Check out our photo gallery HERE
You May Also Like
To be honest,
I “CAN`T HEAR IT ANYMORE ” or read about it.
I am over reading about the “last hurdles ” before opening.
Living in the area, since the Imperial opened as a gay pub ,
I cant help but wonder, why the facade has not been painted/ touched up….hell… cleaned just.
Almost every week, for a few months now we had to read about some more final tuning,
but the place still looks a dump from the outside.
….and I thought ” poeple are so shallow and judge from what they see ” and this looks filthy….will they ever open ?
If you are really serious about opening that joint, try cleaning up the outside facade, flaking paint doesnt go with flakey people, “REALLY”
@ jason
they coult still paint the cealing of the awning and clean the tiles and get rid of the graffiti, that would not be impacted by the heritage issues.
It looks awesome on the inside!
I love that from the outside it looks old, unassuming, then once inside, it looks amazing!
It’s just a pub people. There are heaps of others.
Just do a search on imperial hotel and you’ll find endless dribble from Imperial Inc. regarding the delays with opening.
This is one of the best from October last year:
“I’m hoping now to open up in late October, but probably early November. Regardless of the court case, I’ve got to open up,” he told Sydney Star Observer.
“I can’t leave it shut, so if I lose I’ll just have to accept the numbers and see what happens in the future.
I smell a rat and it’s not the City of Sydney.
Jason…”heritage issues” do not exclude sandblasting the bricks and painting the window frames….poor excuse in defending the indefensible!
I think it is time the council stepped aside and let this iconic venue open and get on with business,
The Imperial is part of the social fabric of Erskineville – and as a resident of the area who live very close by, I can’t wait for it to open.
It will help add more interest and excitement to the area again ….
I agree with Ben – it is clear the council is doing everything in its power to try and further delay the opening of the Imperial.
Seems there might be a few people who want to ruin it for everyone else
How bloody typical – the outside looks like a disgrace …. bloody hell – didn’t realise you would all be hanging out the front … why not check out the inside of the bloody building and stop judging the refurbishment by the exterior.
Had you been following the story you would realise there are significant heritage issues at play with the exterior of the building ….
Bloody shallow responses if you ask me ..
i agree thefacade of the building is a disgrace, totally run down
“The Imperial Hotel could be open in time for Mardi Gras. In a statement released yesterday.”… Yawn. We’ve heard this same statement the last two Mardi Gras.
Also, the “four to six weeks” carrot has goten VERY stale.
As Madge sings “i’ve heard it all before, i’ve heard it all before, i’ve heard it all before”
Yawn.
The exterior of the Imperial looks tired and disgusting.
Could Clover Moore and Council please get out of the way!
The just announced rebuild of the Newtown will never happen if this attitude continues.