Business
12 June, 2024
North West's 'pub in the scrub' hits the market
It re-opened in April 2023 but the owners insist the sale was all part of a plan.
The Quamby Pub is up for sale, despite the fact it reopened its doors just over a year ago.
Plenty of blood, sweat and tears went into restoring the “pub in the scrub”, located 45 clicks north of Cloncurry, but co-owner Nigel Sheiles said it was the right time to look at selling.
“It was always a two-year plan,” he told North West Weekly as we stopped in for a beer on the way back from the Normanton Rodeo.
“We didn’t want to just turn it into a pub; we wanted it to become a destination.
“And we’ve managed to do that looking at all the reviews we’ve got on places like WikiCamps.”
The Quamby Pub, or at least the shell of it, sat dormant for almost 10 years after the previous owners abandoned it in 2013.
“My wife and I were on a road trip through the area with our friends when we drove past it,” Mr Sheiles said.
“I thought, this is one of those opportunities that only comes once in a lifetime.”
Mr Sheiles and his wife Karen along with their friends Greg and Wendy White purchased the deed for $110,000 in 2021 and set about restoring it.
They have since spent more than half a million dollars fixing it up – mostly rebuilding – and adding new features, such as rooms for travellers, as well as shower and toilet facilities for campers.
“We thought we’d better put it on the market and see what happens,” Mr Shieles said.
“Things out west don’t tend to sell real quick.”
The owners are asking for $1.3 million to part ways with the pub and Mr Shieles said it would be a good investment, particularly if the new owners wanted to work in the business.
“The books might not look as strong as they could but that’s because most of the money the pub has made has been invested back into the business,” he said.
“We had seven rooms, now we’ve got 11 and we’ve got another two on the way.
“We’ve just done the paperwork to supply the mines with a pallet of grog each week, which will also provide regular income.”
For the most part, the business is supplemented by travellers.
“Our season is really from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, but it’s a great period of trading.”
