Last year one of Sydney’s oldest sports clubs went into voluntary administration with debts over $500,000. But community fundraising totalling $150,000, a membership drive and partnership with a Sydney hospitality group have given the 108-year-old club the revitalisation and support it needed for 21st century survival.

Bird & Bear Group’s speciality is casual waterfront venues with ursine connections such as Sandy Bear at Clontarf or The Flying Bear at Kirribilli. Mosman Rowers will continue the tradition.

Enter Archie Bear, named after the suburb founder Archibald Mosman. This downstairs 100-seat venue and 40-seat deck is set to be Bird & Bear’s flagship venue, consultant Matthew Murray said.

Murray, whose credentials include general manager and group operations manager at Barangaroo House, has come on board as a Bird & Bear partner.

“Bird & Bear are known for their waterside sites that are fun, casual and welcoming,” Murray said.

“The bones of their business is a cafe with great coffee and lots of organic and sustainably sourced products.”

As well as a new name, the club needed a new look that matched the heritage with the location. Bird & Bear brought in Sydney design studio Etic to revamp the rundown building. The wow factor of the venue is those three-sided water views.

The upper floor has the Members Gallery, the street-level entrance opens to the Rowers Bar — it retains that old-school clubhouse feel — while downstairs has been redesigned as the new flagship eatery.

Archie Bear is right on the water, so full height windows and doors to the deck make the most of the location. Inside the feel is pared back, almost Scandinavian, with polished floors and blond bentwood chairs and pops of pinks and golds.

Group executive chef Anthony O’Shea’s seasonal menu echoes that relaxed and casual approach. Archie Bear is open for around-the-clock dining. Breakfast can be light and simple with choices like house-made granola with yoghurt and stewed rhubarb.

Move on to lunch and dinner and there are shared dishes like antipasti or rock oysters that would be ideal with a glass of rose. Lighter meals include crispy skin salmon served on an avocado pea puree, or poached chicken soba noodle salad.

Heartier meals are classic club feeds like a medium-rare rump steak and chips or chicken schnitzel.

Two signature Bird & Bear dishes have migrated to Mosman, Murray said. One is beer-battered fish and chips with tartare sauce and the Archie burger, a wagyu beef patty with the lot.

Archie Bear is also great as a drop-in for a quick coffee. Bring your four-legged friend too. Fido is welcome on the deck, although he won’t appreciate that view.