Qld’s very own Schitt’s Creek for sale, a 140-yr-old tourist hub
The massive Lion’s Den Hotel property at 398 Shiptons Flat Road, Rossville is for sale.
Queensland’s very own Schitt’s Creek is for sale – a 140-year-old icon with one of our longest running pubs, coffee and pizza shop, museum, retail store, dongas, treehouses, post and fuel bowser.
An icon of the north, The Lion’s Den Hotel is named around the long abandoned Lion’s Den Mine and has grown over its 140 year history to become its own little mini-township of sorts.
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398 Shiptons Flat Road, Rossville, is about 20 minutes from Cooktown.
The property has multiple income streams across its 2.75 hectares.
Spread across 2.75 hectares of land, The Lion’s Den Hotel is geared for adventure tourism with four glamping tree houses, a caravan park campground, airconditioned donga accommodation with 25 rooms, offices, manager’s quarters, caretaker’s quarters, coin operated laundry facility with another five room donga for workers under construction.
Unlike the hit Netflix series Schitt’s Creek — which was a small town the Rose family bought as a joke – the Lion’s Den story is very real and though it has basic features you might expect from a township like the postal service, fuel and basic supplies, it isn’t really one.
The entire area is owned by one person Judy Fry who is firmly embedded in Lion’s Den, where the original hotel pub is still in working order with history literally written all over its walls from travellers who have passed through over the 140 years.
The diner churns out around 250 meals a day.
The pub has six beers on tap plus multiple spirits and other offerings, including takeawy sales.
Agent Shaun Bishop of Harcourts Innovations said the owner Ms Fry was ready to retire.
“While she’s loved running the place, it’s time to let new owners continue the legacy,” he said.
Interest had come thick and fast given the iconic nature of the property.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia, there’s a lot of history in the walls. Travellers are encouraged to make their notations on the walls about their travels and what they thought of the place. You’ve got a museum there that talks about the frontierland back in the day when there was mining and people setting up roads in the area.”
The quaint museum tracks the history of the ‘frontierland’.
Unlike anything on the market right now.
Located 20 minutes from Cooktown. the property has the kind of country charm with its multi service and diverse offerings for travellers.
“There’s takeaway alcohol, a pizza shop, they do meals, they also have campgrounds and glamping. A lot of motorbike riders come through, caravans, and for many people coming through the Bloomfield Track, Daintree and Camp Tribulation this is one of the stops before Cooktown that they frequent.”
Loads of adventure to be had in the area.
The area is a popular stop for travellers on motorbike adventures and those on the Bloomfield Track.
He said there were several buyers going through the due diligence on the property.
“We don’t have a price point on it because it comes down to stock levels at the time, because you’re carrying a lot of food, alcohol and merchandise. It’s best to go through negation and due diligence process.”
“All I can say is profit is good. It’s certainly more of an iconic destination, a must stop place to go when you’re doing the Bloomfield Track. “
Mr Bishop said thousands of people had viewed the listing and reacted to the property on Facebook which was understandable given the nostalgia around it, with over 30,000 on the realestate.com.au listing alone.
“Generally most say what an amazing place, or they had the best time there. A lot of people are saying let’s buy a pub or they remember going there as a kid.”
The retail store with tourist mementoes.
There are multiple accommodation options on site.
The campgrounds are popular.
The property at 398 Shiptons Flat Road, Rossville, is listed on realestate.com.au as the pride of the north.
The bar has two serveries, six beers on tap, an adjacent cool room with easy access doors to drinks storage, spirits shelves and glass racks. eftpos and till systems.
The coffee and pizza bar has food service counter and salad bar, and churns out around 250 meals a day. It also has an indoor dining and pool table area, with history written on the walls via travellers’ notes, and there is also an outdoor garden deck and covered eating areas.
The retail shop sells clothing, apparel, gift ideas and mementos, the museum has antiques, wildlife quirks, and historic information about the area.
Treehouse style glamping tents for rent on site.
Popular items on the menu.
The food serves are hearty.
The industrial kitchen has two cool rooms, fryers, dishwashers, prep stations, grill and pizza oven and there is also a storage area for takeaway liquor sales.
The accommodation and campground side of the business has a booking counter, main office and further storage room, with a ladies and gentleman’s ablutions block.
The 25 rooms in the airconditioned donga accommodation go for about. $60 to $80 per night, while the glamping safari treehouse tents are about $110 a night. The unpowered camp site is $15 a night which 14 powered camp spots are $35 a night for two people and $15 per person above that. There is a communal laundry that’s coin operated.
Both the owner/managers one bedroom quarters and the caretakers’s two bedroom home are airconditioned.
Kiddy playground surrounded by nature.
The musings of passing travellers on the walls.
Money also comes in from the tea room, fuel sales off diesel and unleaded petrol bowers and the Australia Post mail service.
Among infrastructure on site is a massive workshop with tool and plant “for almost any job required”, forklift, welding gear, drill press, mowers and garden care equipment, trinity fire systems, rural bushfighting equipment stored on site, six acres of irrigation infrastructure, a bore with submersible pump and a bio cycle sewerage system.
“The lion’s den holds yearly events and live music. The property is a genuine slice of history with a loyal following and loads of stories to tell,” was how Mr Bishop described it. “The lucky buyer will not only enjoy a fruitful income, but they will also be confident in knowing this is a business that has survived the ages. a pillar of the north and the sellers invite buyers to come and stay and feel the history.”
