Ellis family snaps up Birdsville Bakery months after buying Birdsville Hotel
The Birdsville Bakery, perched on the edge of the Simpson Desert and renowned for its curry camel pies, has sold to same family who bought the neighbouring Birdsville Hotel several months ago.
Selling agents Savills reported that the property had been sold to CW & TJ Ellis Property Pty Ltd ATF Ellis Family Property Trust, with listing agent Gregory Woods confirming that the buyer was the same for both properties.
Commercial Real Estate revealed in January that businessman Courtney Ellis, best-known as the entrepreneur who, with his brother Andre 20 years ago, co-founded the travel company Outback Spirit Tours, had purchased the iconic hotel, which is located opposite the bakery.
The Ellises paid about $6 million for the 1884-built sandstone pub, which had been on and off the market for the past three years.
The bakery last changed hands in 2017, when founder Robert “Dusty” Miller sold the property to Diamantina Holdings for $1.2 million.
Mr Miller, who died in 2018, had built the bakery into a fixture of the Birdsville event calendar, serving the famous camel pie during major events such as the Birdsville Races and Big Red Bash music festival.
Diamantina Holdings, run by Martin Josselyn, was subsequently placed into liquidation and liquidators PriceWaterhouseCoopers were appointed to sell the property with the bakery no longer in operation.
The property, on the corner of Coolibah Street and Billabong Boulevard, is on a 1376-square-metre landholding that spans two separate titles.
The property could have future development potential by way of a strata sub-division, subject to council approval, but Mr Woods confirmed that the new owner intended to operate the property as a bakery.
Other features of the property include commercial-grade kitchen, refrigerator, airconditioning, dining room, container storage and outdoor seating area.
There is also a detached shipping container with one bedroom, and a three-bedroom main residence.
Birdsville, a town with a permanent population of about 150, has as many as 9000 visitors for the Birdsville Races in a typical year.
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