Overview
The Imperial Erskineville has been a staple of Sydney's LGBTQIA+ community and lively nightlife scene for decades, having transformed into a queer-friendly venue in the early 1980s. In 2023, the pub underwent one of its more significant changes in recent history, with Universal Hotels taking over the reins, bringing it under the Kospetas family's hospitality footprint, which spans Newtown Hotel, Universal, Oxford Hotel, Civic Hotel and Hotel Downing.
Now, another chapter in the venue's history has arrived, as Odd Culture Group has announced it will assume operations of The Imperial Erskineville from Tuesday, September 1, in partnership with Universal Hotels. Yet perhaps the even bigger news is that this new joint venture is set to embark on a $5 million redevelopment of The Impy, scheduled to commence in early 2027, that will breathe new life into its storied walls.
No small thing, changes coming to the venue in the near-ish future include doubling The Impy's ground-floor footprint thanks to an expanded beer garden that will instantly open one of the largest in the Inner West. Alongside some much-needed restoration updates and tweaks to the existing dining and experience setup, perhaps the most attention-grabbing change is the launch of a 24-hour club, ready to play a key role in Sydney's nightlife scene.
"Our ambition is not simply to preserve one of Australia's most iconic queer venues, but to ensure it continues to evolve as one of the world's great queer institutions for generations to come," says Odd Culture Group Founder & Director James Thorpe. "The past few months have shown just how fragile queer cultural infrastructure can be. Creative spaces don't just need operators with ambition, they need landlords with the conviction to stand behind them."
Launched in late 2020 amid COVID lockdowns, Odd Culture has become a major player in Sydney's hospitality scene, with its team behind Inner West venues including the eponymous Odd Culture and Bistro Grenier, The Duke of Enmore and Pleasure Club, plus The Old Fitzroy Hotel in the Inner East. In taking over the tenure of the much-loved Impy, Thorpe says returning Sydney's nightlife economy to its former glory is on the agenda.
"Sydney has come a long way since the lockout laws, with vibrancy reforms creating the conditions for nightlife to flourish again. But we feel there is still a gap in the form of a truly ambitious large-format club capable of standing alongside the world's best," he continues. "So we are aspiring to contribute to this missing piece by creating one of the world's great queer clubs and a destination capable of attracting audiences from around Australia and overseas."
The Imperial Erskineville's redevelopment is expected to begin in early 2027, with more details and venue offerings to come in the coming months. Head to the website for more information.
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Images: Supplied.