The three inner Sydney venues which make up the Drink ‘n’ Dine group have been snapped up by Dixon Hospitality which now has a portfolio of 28 venues.
The Oxford Tavern in Petersham, The Forresters in Surry Hills and The Norfolk in Redfern fit in with Dixon’s suite perfectly, said CEO Bruce Dixon, thanks to their impressive food offerings and interesting beverage menus.
“We’ll now have 28 venues, having acquired Open Door Pub Co at the end of 2015. We’re starting to get scale and we have a very good mix of gastronomic pubs,entertainment led venues and beverage based bars.
“The Drink’n’Dine venues give us a presence in NSW and align well with our strategy of well operated, non-gaming pubs in good locations,” said Dixon.
Founder of the Drink’n’Dine group, Jamie Wirth, said he and his team worked hard to create successful hospitality venues, but now is the right time to hand them over.
“Our philosophy was always simple … food and booze … we created pubs where people go to eat and drink and we spent a lot of time in getting that mix right. We started each pub because we had a creative concept then we worked hard on menus and service and quality. Each pub is unique, with a great following and strong operational team, so the time feels right for me to let go,” he said.
However Wirth will continue on as a key consultant to Dixon Hospitality. “In 2016 I’ll be working with the crew at Dixon to introduce some interesting food concepts into their Melbourne venues, so hopefully Melburnians are excited by the ideas we’ve got too,” he said.
