THE Heywood Hotel has been revitalised in recent months, with the venue reopening ahead of the festive season in December after a period of uncertainty at the pub.

Purchased by Hamilton’s Cally Hotel owners Tim Baulch, Jason Williams and Amanda Hayes midway through 2021, the pub is managed by industry veteran and former Cally venue manager Phil Holmes.

Mr Holmes said taking on the pub last year was a no brainer for the eager group.

“For myself, and the owners, we saw the town with one pub that wasn’t open,” he said.

“We thought surely that’s not the way things should be.

“Before too long we came in and put in the work to get it up and running.

“It wasn’t easy and there was a lot of work to be done, but over a short period of time it was transformed into something we’re quite proud of.

“The pub is an important space for people in the community – its’s a meeting place and somewhere for residents to go instead of travelling down the highway.”

The group took on the mammoth task of giving the venue a complete facelift with the support of the Heywood community.

“We’re so grateful for the community and their support throughout the transformation,” he said.

“There was a period of time we were unsure where to get people to help out, but Elders in the community – specifically Phillip Kanoa – were a great help to us.

“Phillip got a working bee up and running for us and we had such a great turn out of people ready and willing to help out.

“Without that support we might not be open right now – it was fantastic.”

Since opening on December 10, patrons have booked the pub out on a number of occasions.

“The response has been fantastic,” he said.

“Our menu is fantastic, the bar has been completely done up and the bottle shop is open and proving very successful.

“The TAB is still a little bit away but that’s coming along as well.

“It hasn’t been all sunshine and lollipops, and of course there’s always hiccups, but we’re now at a point of smooth sailing and the community has really backed us.

“New Year’s Eve most of the young ones from Heywood head into Portland instead of sticking around for the night, but this year we had some music going and they stayed here and had a great old time.”

Although only in its fifth week, Mr Holmes said the group was already looking to the future.

“I’ve always had a strong music focus in venues I’ve worked at,” Mr Holmes, a musician himself, said.

“So that’ll be on the agenda for this year – we want to present great music opportunities for musicians and patrons alike to enjoy.

“At the moment things are a little tedious due to COVID but once we get through this there’ll be big things happening at the Heywood Hotel.”