Buy a piece of history

LANDMARK 1854 Brunswick pub the Sarah Sands Hotel is up for grabs after a sleek facelift by the team behind some of Melbourne’s most well-known watering holes. Australian Venue Co. will retain the lease to the pub on the corner of Brunswick and Sydney roads, the site of the initial tollgate on the famous stretch to Sydney. Burgess Rawson agent Matthew Wright said the developer owners were after $6m-7m for the building and AVC had signed a 10x10x10 lease for the “Brunswick institution” until 2051. The original Sarah Sands Hotel name was reinstated with its recent reopening, after a period as Irish pub Bridie O’Reilly’s. Following $2.7m in renovations by AVC, it now features a stylish interior with polished wooden floors and fresh paint on the heritage listed facade. Historic features include exposed bricks and beams. It can hold up to 500 punters and has a 3am liquor licence. AVC runs more than 190 venues, including Fitzroy’s The Provincial Hotel and the new Yarra Botanica floating pontoon bar, and recently reopened the former Bimbo Deluxe site on Brunswick St as Kewpie Fitzroy.