The Oxford Tavern has changed hands a couple of times in recent years, and new owner James Thorpe thinks the venue lost its way.
“About five years ago, the Tav was this really great family pub owned by the same guys who own The Forresters in Surry Hills and The Norfolk in Redfern,” he says. “Australian Venue Co bought it two years ago. It’s this humungous company with like 200 venues and when we bought it, it wasn’t in a great way. They admitted it needed boots-on-the-ground operators, and that’s what we are.”