Perks' Pubs the Pride of Two Peninsulas

BY DION HAYMAN

Quiz Question: Which South Australian town of barely 1000 people boasts a country pub that hides a Caffe Primo franchise behind its doors?

Answer: Minlaton.

The pub is the pride and absolute passion of Brad Perks and his wife Janette who are transforming the Minlaton Hotel/Motel into a hospitality venue that’s rapidly becoming the talk of the Yorke Peninsula.

(L-R) Janette and Brad Perks with Simon Koch at an AHA|SA meeting.

It already includes a craft beer bar and a more cultured ‘La Femme Saloon’ for the ladies.

It’s in the process of renovating and expanding its accomodation options to include 15 refurbished hotel rooms, complete with ensuites, to accompany its six motel rooms.

It has recently opened a new Thirsty Camel bottle shop and is even daring to add Nepalese fare to an already extensive and diverse menu. This is no ordinary country pub. But it’s the Caffe Primo offering that is luring locals and tourists through its doors like nothing else.

It’s a win for the south with Minlaton’s gain becoming Moonta’s loss.

“We introduced (Caffe Primo) into a hotel in Moonta, the Royal Hotel, which went really well,” Brad said.

“We sold the venue to the Black Rhino Group who decided not to take on the franchise.”

“I’d just signed a 10-year deal so I had a franchise with nowhere to go.”

Out of desperation, Brad asked Caffe Primo’s owners if he could move the popular eatery to Minlaton and he was blown away by their response and actions.

“We’ve had a great relationship with the Vettese family.

“They worked with me to get it down there, they were on site, they helped do a reno with us, it just seamlessly went in there.

“They didn’t have to, they could have just taken me to court and taken me for $300,000 of franchise fees but they didn’t.

“The whole of the bottom of the peninsula has really responded, the reaction’s been great, the locals have really supported it and the tourists have been fantastic too.

“Everything is made on site, fresh and that’s why the food tastes so good, so I’m really passionate about it.”

The Caffe Primo menu covers all the standard pub dishes to satisfy the basic eaters, as well as steaks, seafood, pastas, pizzas and salads.

The more adventurous ones may soon find some Nepalese dishes among Minlaton’s specials after Brad recently hired two young chefs from the Himalayan country.

Caffe Primo - front of house staff member, Helen Clements, with Nepalese chefs Sandesh Kharel (left) and Prakash Sapkota (right).

“That’s the flexibility (you have) with Primo - yes we’ve got a fixed menu but if we want to do something on the chef’s suggestion’s board, we can basically run with what ever we like,” he said.

But he admits he had to be innovative to solve the neverending challenge of staffing.

“It’s just so bloody hard to get a chef and these lads are on visas.

“They are that dedicated and loyal. They live in-house which is good for them because it keeps their costs down but also it’s good for us because if we have someone not available, they can jump in early.”

The Vettese family will even cover Brad when circumstances are stacked against him.

“What makes the franchise so good is the family that owns it. They support it every day.

“I haven’t got a chef next week, the chef’s got trade school, so they are sending someone over. They’re just very solution focussed, which is what we’re all about.”

It was Brad and Janette’s desire to stand out from the crowd that culminated in the unusual partnership between pub and restaurant franchise.

“We were the first ones to do it in a pub (in Port Pirie),” he said.

“It was a light bulb moment because pub food is good food but sometimes it gets pretty competitive when you’ve got five hotels in the one town.

“Everyone’s doing a schnitzel and a mixed grill and you don’t want to discount because once we all discount and it’s all about price then no-one wins because the publican doesn’t make any money. Then he can’t afford to spend any money on his venue and they start to deteriorate - so we had to look at a point of difference.

“They weren’t sure how it would go but the dining turnover trebled straight away and it’s done the same thing basically since we put it down at Minlaton.”

Better patronage has fuelled Brad’s determination to reinvest in the community, in terms of both sponsorship and employment.

“We wanted some locals working there because locals love to see locals,” he said.

“We brought some people in from Moonta and Port Pirie and with their expertise, they were able to train the locals, teach them the back of house stuff - ‘why do we do this .. how come the boss has come down and said this?’

“We teach them the whole process, why we need the hotel to be viable and profitable because then we put that money back in - then we can sponsor the netball club, the football club, the polocrosse.”

Not content with his Primo drawcard, Brad has transformed two bars in the Minlaton Hotel to complement the front bar.

A craft bar taps into the evergrowing demand for quality craft beer and offers brews from the award-winning Watsacowie Brewing Company, just a 12-minute walk up the road.

Brad sees the brewery as an asset to the town rather than a rival to his business.

“We promote their product, we don’t go head to head with them, we actually grow their business and they grow ours. It’s just cross pollination, helping each other out.”

The La Femme Saloon offers a more intimate space than you would normally expect to find in a pub 200km from Adelaide - one that raised the eyebrows of a few locals. “They all gave us a bit of stick to start with but the boys love it, it’s a talking point.

“Primarily front bars have been a bit boyish or a bit male-orientated. So we just wanted to create a nice soft space where people, whether it be the ladies or not, could sit in a booth, have a bottle of bubbles, their own little quiet space.”

Minlaton Hotel front bar - assistant manager, Elke Woods (left) with general manager, Tahlia Shailer (right).

It’s the culmination of a grand plan which may have all looked quite different had Brad and Janette not been invited to inspect the then abandoned Hotel Boston in Port Lincoln during the middle of COVID-19 lockdown.

“The pub was actually closed, locked, the lessee had walked away.

“So we flew over with Rex and I think we were the only ones on the plane and we were the only ones in Adelaide Airport because you couldn’t fly interstate in lockdown.

“We walked in and it had been shut for months and it just stunk and I thought ‘Oh, my God’.

“We looked at each other and I said, ‘We’ve just wasted a day here’.

“So then we walked through the hallway out to the dining room and went ‘holy @#$!, the water’s just there’, where do we sign?”

Like anyone who has visited it, Brad and Janette were immediately enchanted by the breathtaking and expansive grassed outdoor dining and entertainment area overlooking the magnificent Boston Bay.

The magic all hides behind an unassuming hotel facade that gives none of that away.

“I think there’s only four, maybe five hotels in Australia where the actual title of that land goes to the high water mark so we’re basically licensed to the high water mark.

“We did a joint venture with the landlord because the landlord didn’t have a tenant, they were desperate. So my wife and I went and lived over there for six months and renovated the hotel.

“The cruise ships pull up just over the corner, we have outdoor entertainment, we have markets on those lawns every month and we have local music playing, so it’s been beyond expectations.”

Suddenly finding themselves financially stretched, the Perks decided to consolidate by selling their Port Pirie hotel as well as three in Moonta, including the Royal with its Primo franchise.

These days, 58-year-old Brad manages his ventures from Adelaide, commuting weekly to his two pubs and two retirement villages in Moonta and Port Pirie.

“For the previous 25 years, I just wore out good tyres driving up and down the peninsula going from Port Pirie to Minlation to Moonta, back and forth every week.

“Once upon a time (it would have been) very difficult but we’ve got such a great team now. People who’ve been with us for quite a few years have stepped into some management roles and some leadership roles and they’re just fantastic so I’m better off not interfering a lot of the time.

“The hotel works best when I’m not there ‘cause they’re young and they’re enthusiastic and their skills are a lot better than mine.”

Brad remains eternally grateful to Janette: “She’s got the ideas, she puts her energy and heart and soul into it and she’s one of those rare people who can work seven days a week.”

He also speaks glowingly of the AHA|SA that fought so hard for the rights of all hoteliers during the devastating lockdowns.

“When they shut our pubs on the 23rd of March (2020), we had nowhere to turn to, we were gone, we were bankrupt.

“They lobbied governments and did everything they could to put our case forward. We were trying to stretch all the rules as far as we could without breaking them, to get people in the door and feed them.” Now, nearly three years later, he’s confident the industry has all but emerged from those darkest of days, not unscathed but healed and growing ever stronger.

“I would say if it continues like this, we’re out the other side. I’m really optimistic about it. And what we like about the public, they have come back and supported us like never before. We've got people who come to the pub now that never used to come to the pub.”

High on his ‘to do’ list this year is completing the accommodation upgrade at Minlaton that gives his pub yet another unusual string to its bow.

“It’s been a big project but we are wanting to invest money into it because we believe it’s the right thing for the area and the right thing for the community.”

The Minlaton Hotel, Yorke Peninsula.

With the local brewery nearby, the award-winning Sunny Hill Distillery an hour north in Arthurton (think wheat vodka, gin, whiskey, rum and liqueurs) and the peninsula’s only award-winning winery, Barley Stacks Wines at South Kilkerran, 10 minutes south of Maitland, the heart of the Yorke Peninsula is rapidly becoming a tourist destination for lovers of a tipple.

“If we can get people to stay one more day on the peninsula, we all win.”

Thirsty Camel bottle shop manager, Lachie Hennekam.