Old Mates Pub in NYC is owned by hospitality operators Eddy Buckingham and Nick Stone, who partnered with Australian comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee to open the venue. Former NBA player Patty Mills also holds a stake. The Australian-themed pub sits at 170 John Street in the Financial District, across three floors of a 19th-century building.
The Operating Partners
Eddy Buckingham is the hospitality operator at the center of the business. Originally from Melbourne and now based in New York, he built his reputation through a run of Manhattan restaurants including Chinese Tuxedo, The Tyger, and SoSo’s. He runs those venues independently of Old Mates, but they established the high-concept, design-forward approach he brought to the pub.
Nick Stone co-founded Bluestone Lane, the Australian-inspired coffee chain that now operates dozens of US locations, with his brother Andrew Stone. His role at Old Mates draws on that hospitality background and on his ties to the Australian expat community in New York, which forms a core part of the pub’s customer base.
The Celebrity Partners
Andy Lee, one half of the Australian comedy duo Hamish and Andy, is a partner in the venture. Hamish Blake, the other half, is also involved. Their names raised the pub’s profile in Australia before it opened and give it a reach most independent bars don’t have.
Patty Mills, the Australian basketball player who spent much of his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs and later played for the Brooklyn Nets, is also a part owner. His stake fits the pub’s identity as a gathering spot for Australians living in or passing through New York.
How the Ownership Is Held
Old Mates operates under a license from the New York State Liquor Authority, the agency that regulates alcohol sales statewide. The SLA’s public license database lists the principals behind each licensed venue and is the most reliable public record for confirming who is legally responsible for the business. Because the pub is in New York City, it also falls under the city’s health and safety inspection regime.
The venue almost certainly operates through a limited liability company registered with the New York Department of State, which is standard practice for multi-partner hospitality ventures. An LLC structure limits each owner’s personal exposure to the business’s debts and liabilities, which matters when a venue has several investors with different levels of day-to-day involvement. The names reported publicly as owners — Buckingham, Stone, Blake, Lee, and Mills — are the partners behind the business; the specific percentage split between the operating partners and the celebrity investors has not been publicly disclosed.
If you want to confirm the current licensee of record, the SLA license lookup will show the entity name on the active liquor license for 170 John Street, and the Department of State’s business entity search will show who filed and maintains that entity.