UPDATE: The sale of the pub did not proceed.
William Ryan initially entered into negotiations and reached an agreement to acquire Kuleto’s in late 2022 — with plans to revert the venue back to its historical moniker, the Milton Hotel (and temporarily trade as King Street Public House) — the transaction ultimately fell through.
The sale did not proceed to completion, allowing long-time owner Donna Asensio to keep the property on the market. This cleared the path for Greg Magree and the team behind Stonewall Hotel to acquire the property and transform the venue into Stonewall Newtown.
Stonewall Newtown officially hosted its Grand Opening Party on April 2, 2026.
The venue first began soft operations and placed its new signage at the former Kuleto’s site on King Street in January 2026 following the acquisition of the three-story cocktail bar by the Stonewall consortium. This launched a brand-new inner-west chapter for the iconic Sydney LGBTQIA+ venue.
For the history buffs, the site opened as the Hampton Court Hotel in 1875, renamed, Milton Hotel in December 1885, and branded Kuleto’s in the late 1980s. It is believed to be Newtown’s second oldest watering hole, after Coopers Hotel, established as the Shakespeare in 1874, and pipping the Carlyle Castle Hotel for the title by a few months.
Although there a number of Newtown pubs older than the Milton Hotel, they have since been demolished and rebuilt. The Milton, like Coopers and Carlyle Castle remain in their original structures, built in the 1870s.
For a history of the pub visit the Time Gents story: Newtown’s Old Pub Reborn: The Milton Hotel to the Stonewall Era
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