The East End institution saved from demolition by a public backlash has been awarded Best Live Music Venue at the hotel industry's biggest gig.

In a year that brought significant attention to the Crown & Anchor as a live music venue when its existence was threatened by development, the East End pub was last night named the best of its type at the 2024 Australian Hotels Association SA Awards for Excellence.

Tom Skipper, proprietor of the pub that was slated for demolition earlier this year but was rescued after public outrage and the intervention of the Premier with special purpose legislation, said he was “absolutely stoked”.

“It’s a huge recognition of the hard work our team has put in to keep live music alive and thriving in Adelaide,” he said.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on being a space where both up-and-coming artists and established acts can perform, and this award really solidifies that commitment.

“It’s an exciting time for the Cranker as we look toward even bigger things ahead.”

Australian Hotels Association South Australia CEO Anna Moeller said the Cranker’s win didn’t surprise her.

“There’s just such an enormous amount of love for that place,” she said.

“It absolutely validates the decision that [the state government] made, not that I think it needed any validation but it certainly shows that you can achieve an outcome without going to war when something is important enough and after the award last night, it’s proven to be important enough.

“80 per cent of live music gigs are actually played in hotels across the state which is amazing and incredibly important for not just local original artists but cover bands too.”

The Crown & Anchor has hosted live music for 30 years and presents acts nearly every night. Photo: Liam Jenkins

Save the Cranker board member Patrick Maher welcomed the award, saying: “The Cranker’s pivotal role and service to the local live music scene is what we’ve been fighting to preserve for the future of our city.”

“It also highlights the need for broader protections of our live music and culturally significant spaces beyond what is available in the heritage system,” he said.

“There is plenty more that can be done by governments to protect and support the industry. The threat to the Cranker, recognised by the AHA for their high quality live music offering, highlights how far we have to go.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the achievements of the winning hotels and venues come during a time “when SA is rapidly becoming the Destination State”.

“The food, beverage, and accommodation services on offer in South Australia are second to none,” he said.

“Hotels and pubs remain the backbone of many metropolitan and rural communities – they are a source of employment, investment and community spirit that I am very proud of as a South Australian.”

The Cranker’s latest win follows the pub being inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame earlier this year for its decades of commitment to original live music.

The pub joined fellow inner-city venues such as The Grace Emily, The Wheatsheaf Hotel, and The Governor Hindmarsh with that honour.

But it comes as the hotel is expected set to shut from April 2025 for a period of two years while renovations are undertaken on the band room and a 29-storey student accommodation tower is built next door.

Last week, Skipper told InDaily that he is in the final stages of negotiations for a potential temporary home for the pub when it closes early next year. The move comes after the state government struck a historic deal to save the pub which was under threat of being demolished to make way for a student accommodation tower.

The state government then passed special-purpose legislation to protect the Crown & Anchor from being demolished and to confirm its continued use as a pub and live music venue.

The legislation was passed with amendments from Greens MLC Robert Simms, adding clauses that give the Crown & Anchor the same protections as state heritage places from any future “demolition by neglect”.

It also designates the entire Adelaide CBD as a ‘live music venue area’, granting protections to certain live music venues which will be selected by Planning Minister Nick Champion at a later date.