Sullivan sighting sparks hopes of Paddington revival

Justin Hemmes' upcoming mega-launch at the Paddington Arms Hotel on embattled Oxford Street is creating some buzz in Paddington, the chatter getting louder last week when locals spied a long-departed former star of the strip touring a restaurant.

Restaurateur Peter Sullivan, who split this year with long-term business partner Matt Moran, inspected the Light Brigade Hotel, just along from the Paddington Inn, where Sullivan and Moran earned their stripes.

Sullivan says he was just taking a look over the pub restaurant for a friend, the Light Brigade's new owner. "I'll take the rest of the year off," he says. "I've been looking all over the place. I really like the look of some of the emerging suburbs, like Chippendale." He has an up-and-coming chef in mind for his first post-Moran launch.

Elsewhere on Oxford Street, the news is promising at the Unicorn, with the crew from Mary's in Newtown part of the team relaunching the pub.