John Farnham mural a part of revived East Brunswick Hotel

Beloved live music hub the East Brunswick Hotel has reopened, following its $4.84 million sale in December. 

The 1880s pub hosted local and international bands on the rise during its heyday as the East Brunswick Club — including Angus and Julia Stone, Regurgitator, The Temper Trap, Jet, Lisa Mitchell and The Drones — before closing in 2012.

The three-storey venue on the corner of Lygon and Albert streets was then fully renovated and reopened as an up-market pub in 2015, but had been dormant for the past 18 months.

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The property sold at a CBRE auction in December, with new owner Scott Didier carrying out a fresh reno and reopening it last Friday — complete with a live music stage.

The East Brunswick Hotel at 280 Lygon St, Brunswick East sold for $4.84 million late last year.

“The history and presence of this venue makes it one of the most unique pubs in Melbourne, and one with so much potential as a community pub, boutique hotel and home to live music,” he says.

Didier, who grew up in the Brunswick area, has also bought neighbouring retail space with future plans to expand the pub’s footprint.

It now features an industrial-style public bar on the ground floor, decked out with booth seating, exposed steel beams, “floorboards on the roof”, exposed brick walls, a bar made from timber recycled from the Mornington Pier, and a John Farnham mural.

The public bar will feature a live music stage.

Completing the public bar is a stage that’ll host live music from Thursday to Sunday, and a kitchen that will pump out “unpretentious yet modern” pub food under head chef Terence O’Sullivan, formerly of Grand Hotel Richmond, Smith & Singleton, and GG.

Menu highlights include mac and cheese croquettes, falafel sliders, ale-steamed mussels, hearty steaks and a “one-pound meatball” expected to become the venue’s signature dish.

The property also features 12 boutique hotel rooms.

Completing the new layout is an underground cellar with an intimate dining space, and an upstairs up-market cocktail bar featuring a marble-top bar, chandeliers, lounges and a balcony overlooking Lygon St.

There are also 12 boutique hotel rooms, starting from $189 per night.

This article from the Herald Sun originally appeared as “East Brunswick Hotel reopens as three-storey pub with live music stage”.