Mon 29th Oct, 2012 in Local News
Melbourne’s The Tote Hotel has come out relatively unscathed following an arson attack overnight.
3AW reports that Molotov cocktails were thrown into the toilet area of the famed pub around 2am last night. A police investigation is currently underway.
Speaking to FL today, Tote co-owner Jon Perring said there was no serious damage following the incident. While the pub is closed today and tomorrow, it will re-open as usual on Wednesday with a Halloween gig featuring High Fangs, Sun God Replica, Ciggie Witch and Constant Killer.
Perring said he was unsure what provoked the attack or who the perpetrator may’ve been, but the pub have handed over CCTV footage of the incident to police. “Someone obviously had a crack at us,” said Perring, “but it’s business as usual.”
Perring said one of the male toilets sustained damage in the attack, but the front bar was intact. “We lost a dunny, but they probably did us a favour,” he joked.
Located on the corner of Wellington and Johnston streets, The Tote celebrated 30 years last November. The venue almost shut down in January 2010 following an ongoing battle with Liquor Licensing Victoria, but was resurrected by Perring and business partners Andrew Portokallis and Sam Crupi just months after 20,000 people took to the streets in protest.
The venue was recently the subject of a documentary, Persecution Blues: The Battle For The Tote, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year. Directed by Melbourne filmmaker Natalie van den Dungen and produced by Nicole Rogers, it tells the story of the fight to save The Tote and features interviews with former proprietor Bruce Milne, as well as performances by The Drones, Magic Dirt, Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Spiderbait.
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