Image: The Annandale Hotel is offering punters the opportunity to purchase a plaque which will be fixed onto the pub’s exterior bricks as part of a fundraising campaign.
An Inner West institution is selling its bricks to raise money and bail the pub out of long-standing financial woes.
The Annandale Hotel is offering punters the opportunity to purchase a plaque which will be fixed onto the pub’s exterior bricks as part of a fundraising campaign.
Co-owner Matt Rule, who runs the pub with his brother, said they hope to raise between $100,000 and $150,000 during the campaign and mount around 1,000 plaques, priced from $50 to $1000, with more expensive corporate packages on offer.
He said funds would go towards a major overhaul of the pub which includes upgrading the toilets, the band room, the kitchen, and replacing the infamous sticky carpets.
The money will also pay off debts which have accumulated over the last decade. Mr Rule attributed the venue’s financial troubles to legal battles with the previous Leichhardt council from 2004 to 2007 and with a business partner in 2000.
“We’ve probably spent close to half a million dollars in legal fees, DAs [development applications], bungled DAs.”
He said they put the pub on the market last year to flush out potential investors, particularly those in the music scene. Instead they only received interest from developers who would likely tear down the bar after a few years.
The owners will use the Save Live Australian Music (SLAM) day on February 23 to put up the first 150 plaques. As part of the event, they will put on a free show which will include performances by Papa Vs Pretty, Cabins, and Palms. Another free show is planned for the 24th.
The larger, more ornate plaques will be posted on the Parramatta Rd wall while others will appear on the Nelson St side.
“Hopefully we’ll fill the walls up and then we’ll look to go elsewhere,” he said. “The plaques themselves will be an aspect of the hotel which will always be available for years to come.”
The Annandale Hotel has a rich musical history dating back to the 1980s. Bands such as Architecture in Helsinki, You Am I, and The Cat Empire have played on its stage.
A local musician and promoter, James Nichols, said he likes the Buy-a-Brick campaign. However, he wondered if those who participate could have more input and engagement in the management of the hotel, such as input in décor.
He added that it would be sad if The Annandale went under, but said music in Sydney is doing quite well with several other live venue bars emerging, such as the The Standard above Kinselas, and Hi-Fi.
He believes it is not the closure of bars but rather poorly conceived regulation which is the greatest threat to live music.
