Hotel SA Feb 2024

C R E M O R N E H O T E L
EXPANSION PLANS
Duxton Hospitality Services, which added the Cremorne
to its ever-growing stable of pubs in 2021, hasn’t
remained flat-footed either.
It plans to expand the hotel after purchasing two
adjacent shops, ‘Granny’s Corner for Classic Decor’ and
‘Oxford Antiques and Restorations’.
“It’s going to add a lot more area to the beer garden and
indoor space, all while expanding our bottle shop which
will have a nice little patisserie as well.
“The antique shop is actually heritage listed, so I believe
we will have to keep that facade.”
It’s a hurdle Grace and the Group know all too well,
having been denied the opportunity to alter the Unley
Road facade of the Cremorne because of its own
heritage listing.
“That’s always been one my biggest things. Everyone
walks through the hotel and says, ‘you’d never know
how beautiful it is inside when you look at the outside’.
“We say ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ so don’t judge a
pub by its facade.
“I think we’re the perfect example of that. It’s a nice
surprise, like when you go into one of those hidden bars
in Melbourne.”
The Cremorne’s Unley Road frontage remains virtually
untouched since the pub opened in 1854.
There are plans afoot to have it painted but even that
will be a challenge to have approved.
An application was previously made to install blinds
on the pub’s upstairs balcony that adorns its newly
renovated function rooms – yet to hear back.
But rather than remain hamstrung by the past, the new
owners are doing their best to embrace it.
“There is a little something in the works for our upstairs
area which will be able to complement the whole unique
vibe so we can use it to our advantage,” Grace said.
“It’s going to be amazing. It’s just been approved and
will hopefully be done by the end of year.
“It’s something a little bit different to the space – and
the area.”
Grace started just one day after Duxton Hospitality
Services purchased the Cremorne.
That is when the foundations of the Cremorne’s
meteoric rise were laid.
“I feel like when I first came in, we started our staff from
scratch,” she said.
Congratulations from Hahndorf Hill to the Cremorne Hotel for winning both
the SA and National Hotel Of The Year at the AHA Hotel Industry Awards 2023.
Hahndorf Hill Gru Gruner Veltliner
for all your celebrations.
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