Dinner and a show: Neighbouring pub and theatre for sale in much-loved country town

A popular pub and the long-dormant theatre next door have hit the market, offering investors a “perfect package” with the potential for creating a new hospitality precinct.

The Lawson Park Hotel and the neighbouring Regent Theatre in Mudgee have been listed for sale by expressions of interest, giving potential buyers the option to purchase two venues totalling more than 4000sqm.

Occupying a corner position overlooking parklands at 1-3 Church Street, the 1860-built hotel has an average weekly revenue of almost $100,000 across its bar, gaming and bistro operations.

The Lawson Park Hotel is on the market as a freehold going concern. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

It also has potential for further expansion, with eight disused upstairs rooms awaiting future activation.

Selling agent Leonard Bongiovanni said the pub was currently tenanted, but the venue’s owner and operator had both agreed to bring the property to the market as a freehold going concern.

“Whoever buys it gets to take on the business,” he said.

The Regent Theatre next door at 5 Church Street is also for sale, alongside a tenanted three-bedroom house at 33 Short Street, giving potential buyers the option to acquire a significant commercial landholding in the Mudgee CBD.

The neighbouring Regent Theatre is also on the market, offering the potential for buyers to purchase both properties to create a 4000sqm-plus landholding. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

“You can either buy the pub which is 1831sqm, or you package it up with a house and theatre and then have over 4000 square metres of corner real estate in Mudgee,” Mr Bongiovanni said. “We think it’s a perfect package.”

The theatre, which first opened in 1935 and once served as the town’s social hub, has remained dormant for much of the past two decades, with its art deco interiors largely still intact and unmodified.

The theatre’s art deco interiors are mostly intact, although some restoration works are required. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

It was designed by architect George Newton Kenworthy, whose works also included the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Cremorne and the Ritz Theatre in Port Macquarie, as well as several other theatres in Sydney and regional NSW which have since been demolished.

“It’s beautiful,” Mr Bongiovanni said. “It does need restoration, but the heritage features are all there.” 

Mr Bongiovanni said the pub and theatre were offered separately, but it was likely that the eventual buyer would purchase both properties with the view of creating a “hospitality precinct” given the size of the landholding and development potential.

The theatre hasn’t operated for about two decades and remains largely untouched. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Any development of the theatre would need to be sympathetic to the building’s architecture and history, Mr Bongiovanni said, given its state heritage listing.

Separate development applications have previously been lodged to convert the theatre into apartments and a hotel, although these plans haven’t gone ahead.

Film projectors remain in place, adding to the theatre’s nostalgic appeal to movie buffs. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Mr Bongiovanni said potential future uses for the building could include a wedding venue, function centre, or even reactivating it as a theatre or cinema.

Mudgee doesn’t currently have a full-time cinema, although new release films are screened at the Mudgee Town Hall on the first weekend of every month. 

A grassroots community campaign had previously lobbied the local council and state government to purchase the theatre and restore it as a cultural and entertainment venue, ultimately leading to its state heritage listing in 2020.

Previous development applications proposed converting the theatre into apartments or a hotel. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Mudgee is popular with visitors drawn to the region’s flourishing food and wine industry, and was crowned Australia’s Top Tourism Town in both 2021 and 2022.

“It’s a pretty progressive city,” Mr Bongiovanni. “It’s full every weekend.”

Expressions of interest for both properties close on September 25.