Iconic Town and Country Hotel, made famous by Slim Dusty, up for grabs
It’s been four decades since the Town and Country Hotel was immortalised in Slim Dusty’s chart-topping hit Duncan, but there’s a new opportunity for the atmosphere to be great again.
The three-storey 200-year-old St Peters landmark, sitting proudly at the corner of Unwins Bridge Road and Campbell Street, is described by co-agent Peter Seeto, of Highland Commercial Property, as a “typical old Tooth [& Co.] pub”, with the main bar space on the ground floor and accommodation spread across the upper two floors.
“The opportunity is for someone to get right in there and re-establish an independent craft-style ground-floor pub with the accommodation upstairs,” Seeto says.
“It stands really proud on that corner – makes a great advertising opportunity as well.”
Established in 1881, the Town and Country Hotel was replaced by the current Sidney Warren-designed building in 1923. While the classic interwar hotel had already captured the hearts and minds of locals by the time Slim Dusty came along, the country singer put the pub squarely on the map in 1980 by declaring “we drink at the Town and Country/ Where the atmosphere is great/ I love to have a beer with Duncan/ Cause Duncan’s me mate.”
The hotel was also featured in the Duncan music video but has subsequently made headlines of its own over the last decade.
In 2016, tenant Brandon Lynch announced the pub would close its doors after one final hurrah: An Alice Cooper-headlined farewell show.
Helen Filips then took over the pub lease in 2017. Following a legal stoush between Lynch and Filips over the premises’ liquor license, Filips eventually re-opened the venue, weathering a series of disruptions over the next few years, including COVID-19 and the WestConnex development.
While Filips closed the pub in 2023, the 370-square-metre ground floor space has had two more temporary operators since and maintains its hotel liquor licence.
“Ready for transformation”, according to the property’s listing, the space features a kitchenette with fully equipped grease trap and exhaust provisions, a beer garden and outdoor dining area to the rear and a cellar with modern keg system.
Upstairs, the 18 boarding rooms have been recently painted and can be accessed via a separate street entrance. The rooms are currently fully tenanted and generate approximately $5000 per week in rental income, says the listing, offering “dual-income stream potential from both commercial and residential tenancies”. The rooms could also be reconfigured as boutique or short-term accommodation under new ownership.
“It’s a great entry-level pub opportunity in the Sydney CBD as part of the Marrickville craft and independent brewing and distilling region,” Seeto explains.
St Peters has undergone significant infrastructural updates in recent years, with direct access to the M8 and WestConnex, a recently upgraded St Peters train station and the upcoming Marrickville Metro station. Seven kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD, the suburb is less than 10 minutes’ drive from Sydney airport.
