If you have seen the Pogues, Chills, Verlaines, Violent Femmes, Clean, Hunters & Collectors, Exponents, or a huge selection of other bands in Dunedin, it was most likely at Sammy's.
For the first time in more than 30 years, both the land and building are for sale together.
The 120-year-old building is for sale on a freehold basis, including 1146sqm of land and will be vacant on possession.
In early August, the Dunedin District Licensing Committee declined a liquor licence application for Sammy's, finding applicant Sam Chin ''unsuitable to hold an on-licence'', following a string of transgressions going back several years.
The venue's liquor licence renewal was opposed by police and Public Health South.
Yesterday, Sam Chin (60) said in an interview he ''probably could have done the [licensing] rules a bit better. I was a bit slack''.
The ''for sale'' sign outside heralded the end of an entertainment era, spanning his first cabaret show in 1984 with ''middle of the road'' singer Tony Christie; cabaret and three-course meal for $25, through to popular reggae-roots Katchafire earlier this year.
He got into the entertainment business in 1978, running the Taipei restaurant, Hatchcover nightclub and Sammy's.
He said subject to the sale, he intended a ''last hurrah'' for Sammy's, and was thinking of putting on a multi-band gig.
Mr Chin dispelled the myth the venue was a 21st birthday present to him from the Chin family, saying he was offered its management by father and Dunedin entrepreneur Eddie. The name came from a cheeky suggestion.
While not ruling out ''doing something similar'' in the future, at present he was working with his brother at the Crown Hotel.
Sammy's ''heyday'' was in the mid-1980s, with 500 patrons on a Friday and 700 on a Saturday.
''I could have bought a new car every week,'' he joked.
Given the public perception of the building being run down, Mr Chin believed it was ''still solid and sound'', but noted earthquake and building regulations had changed in recent years.
Sammy's has two street frontages, on to Crawford and Vogel Sts, and is within Dunedin's burgeoning ''warehouse precinct'', which boasts a growing number of refurbished historic buildings, Colliers International director Dean Collins said.
''We're expecting it to generate quite a bit of interest, given its history, as well as the potential to refurbish the building and create something new in a rapidly-developing part of the city,'' Mr Collins said.
Although it had been for sale in the past, this package was being offered entirely freehold, as Dunedin Marsh-family owned investment company Oakwood Properties was selling the land, and the Chin family was selling the building.
The rateable value was $490,000 for the land, and $1000 for the building.
Mr Collins said it was up to any buyer to undertake due diligence on the building and its condition.
''A site like 65 Crawford St is likely to be viewed as a prime candidate for a character redevelopment, as it contains many features from its long history as a theatre,'' he said. The sale deadline is October 12.
