Surprise sales at hospo complex
Two landmark restaurant / bars in Brecon Street's Upper Village have been sold after their Australian owner pulled out of Queenstown.
El Camino Cantina and The Bavarian Queenstown are both under new ownership.
The hospo businesses are in prime positions in the Upper Village, flanking the entranceway to the huge new building near Skyline, anchored by Kingpin Queenstown.
Queenstown's Future Hospitality Group have taken on El Camino Cantina, while Stephen McAteer, of the ROKI Collection Queenstown, is the new owner / operator for The Bavarian.
Both were sold by Australian firm Pacific Hunter as going concerns, so it's business as usual for both, although El Camino will be reworked and rebranded in the coming months.
Pacific Hunter, a big player in the Australian hospo market, gave little reason for its decision.
"As a large restaurant group, we constantly review our venue portfolio and performance," a spokesperson says.
"As part of this ongoing review, we made the difficult decision to leave the Queenstown market. The Bavarian Newmarket is not impacted by this decision."
James Ace, co-owner of award-winning Future Hospitality Group (FHG), says he and business partner Bert Haines were approached by the landlords of Upper Village three weeks ago about taking on El Camino.
They had no plans to add to their Queenstown portfolio, which includes Little Blackwood, Margo’s, Little Mez, Odd Saint, Minus 5° Ice Bar and Queenstown Ice Bar, but thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"We weren't looking at any venues because we'd opened Odd Saint in December and after a pretty challenging couple of years, we've got our businesses in a really good spot," Ace says.
"So, we were just planning to have an epic winter with what we've got, but then this popped up and it just made sense immediately. It just has so many positives and fits into the group really well.
"We've got restaurant experience through Margo's, have Queenstown Ice Bar up there, and we see the future of upper Brecon St, with the new gondola and everything else, as really strong."
All existing staff have been offered and accepted roles at the restaurant, subject to visa approvals for some.
"Our plan for the next three to four weeks is to get in there and totally observe the operation, meet the guests, work with the team, and get to know the venue internally.
"During this time, we will be intensely working on a complete re-brand and considering our opportunities to improve the food and drinks, and ways to inject the Future Hospitality service that we have become known for. The new brand and business model will be introduced sometime in September."
El Camino has space for 150 diners, making it FHG's biggest venue.
McAteer, who's company is building a five-star boutique hotel on Queenstown Hill, says there's little to report other than the change of ownership at a corporate level for The Bavarian. The business will remain unchanged.
Wahlburgers Burger Restaurant and Anita Gelato ice cream parlour are due to open in Upper Village in the coming months.
