Canberra's Phoenix Pub has been bowled over with community support, saving it from closure which appeared imminent just weeks ago.
Manager Netti Vonthethoff said she was overwhelmed the Canberra community raised $50,000 in weeks to prevent them from closing due to a complex legal dispute with the landlord and property manager.
"Just weeks ago we were sure we needed to close the next day and it was all very exhausting," Ms Vonthethoff said.
"Now I think we're going to make it through."
The public threw the business a lifeline through fundraising events, online donations and simply grabbing a beer at the venue, with Ms Vonthethoff saying trade had increased drastically since they signalled trouble one month ago.
"All those people that have come forward [to help], the bigness of that, I don't even know how to express. It makes me realise there's no way they would have let us close," she said.
"It's not just my heart that's up there, it's the community's heart and it's been shown."
Water and fire damage cause sting of setbacks
During a recent fundraising event, ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said the city's live music scene would suffer from the loss of The Phoenix, which had been showcasing local talent for 25 years.
The pub in the iconic Sydney Building on East Row had faced a string of financial setbacks since the premises were damaged by fire in February, 2014.
After being hit by a storm the following year, it was slapped with a $200,000 bill for a period operators say the business was unfit to trade, despite putting thousands of dollars into repairing the venue.
The Phoenix spreads across two premises and the original part — the much larger section — has been mostly closed since the fire.
Last year the property manager, LJ Hooker, terminated that section's lease after claiming the business' renovations were non-compliant with fire regulations.
Ms Vonthethoff said community support had put the businesses in a significantly more stable financial position.
"We still are in uncertainty with that space and are hoping to be able to negotiate with the landlord of that space to remove said debt," Ms Vonthethoff said.
"The immediate threat is gone and we are on our way with the trade covering running costs for its current space plus only chipping away at debt for that side only.
"Fundraising will still continue as we do need to read $75,000 for an absolute."
But she said for now she was just happy the smaller side's immediate future was secured.
"Pretty much every band that has come though The Phoenix for all of January have donated their time and energy and all the money raised for them has been donated directly to The Phoenix," she said.
"For everyone to have jumped out to help us just shows how much we mean to them and that is just so positive."
