Despite rumours about its inevitable destruction to make way for luxury apartments, Cygnet’s Commercial Hotel will remain as a pub after a $250,000 restoration project.
The pub’s owner, James Goulding, has been on the receiving end of a tirade of unsavoury comments online and via the spoken rumour mill only a small community can generate.
The stories began last week after the pub shut its doors.
It meant a number of staff were without work, the bottle shop was not operating nor any of the bars or the popular takeaway food bistro.
Mr Goulding said he was disappointed with the negative reaction but said the pub would be back in operation by the beginning of December.
“Look, the work has to be done, the rain proved that last week with the roof leaking and that is dangerous for any building, let alone a commercial one such as this hotel,” Mr Goulding said.
“It’s been run down and needs a good spruce up.
“I want to bring it back to its former glory just like when it was built in 1885.
“I have been involved with Heritage Tasmania on other projects I have done, and this project will stick to their strict regulations and orders.”
Mr Goulding is a builder and will be mostly doing the project by himself.
“I’ve put a 10-week timetable on the restoration and set the first of December as the re-opening date,” he said.
The refurbishment will mean a spruced-up lounge bar, adjacent to where the present restaurant is.
The public bar remains where it is but it will also receive a facelift.
Mr Goulding intends to have 12 beer taps in each of the bars with the bottle shop aiming to promote local beers and spirits.
He plans to establish a small area designated as a whisky bar, which will also promote locally produced spirits.
The accommodation area upstairs will be completely stripped, and the 10 rooms will be upmarket and targeted at the booming tourist trade.
Mr Goulding has spent a lifetime in the building trade.
One of his other business interests includes Timber Stone, a creative building operation specialising in the use of local timbers and stone.
One of Mr Goulding’s previous projects is the restoration of the acclaimed Callington Mill in Oatlands.
It is the town’s major drawcard and a template Mr Goulding can borrow for his ambitious Cygnet project.
