7 minute read
HUNTLEE TAVERN
A Hunter Valley haven
Purpose-built from the ground up to serve the budding local community in style, Huntlee Tavern in the NSW Hunter Valley has something for everyone.
FIVE YEARS ago, the land where Huntlee Tavern now stands was just an empty paddock near a soon-to-be-built residential hub called Huntlee in the Hunter Valley when experienced pub operator, Jason Gavin, first spotted an opportunity.
The pub’s L shape gives it two street frontages.
Introduced through a friend to the area, Gavin, an experienced pub operator, took a look at the site, liked what he saw, noted Coles was moving into town, and decided to buy the land.
Gavin says he always intended the venue to become a destination pub as it’s off the main arterial road in the gateway to Hunter Valley, with regional towns such as Maitland, Singleton and Cessnock nearby.
And after 25 years in hospitality and with a degree and experience in construction, Gavin knew what he wanted.
“I knew it would have to be big and it would have to have all the functions of a tavern,” he says. “I designed a footprint for a big open plan hotel with an L shape to give the frontage to each main street, with a carpark to make a rectangle.
“We had the DA approved, and then we took a look at a few different hotel designs and selected Bergstrom Architects.”
Bergstrom Architects, is a Sydneybased business that works around the state as well as interstate. They were tasked with helping to tweak the design and internal fitout with the brief to create a hotel that looked new but still had the characteristics of the area – an old country hotel but brand new.
Something for everyone
The finished hotel has a bistro area which includes a large three-storey childrens’ playground, a kids entertainment room, as well as seating for functions and an outdoor terrace that holds 100 people.
The other side of the hotel includes a lounge bar which doubles up as an entertainment area and dance floor, a public bar, a gaming room with 15 machines, and a second entry.
“Bergstrom Architects were fantastic and nailed the interior and the design,” Gavin says. “It’s such a pretty hotel, and functionality-wise we put a lot of effort into the different spaces within it so it didn’t look like an RSL.”
Many small touches also contributed to the hotel’s appeal, Gavin says. Chairs in each of the different areas had different fabric to define the different spaces, and they used a lot of recycled materials, such as fence palings, bricks, and wood from demolished bridges.
“The bar uses recycled bridge timber to add that character of the area,” Gavin says. “The bar is my favourite feature of the pub. It’s a work of art.”
The outdoor area has evolved into a family zone that includes covered dining and a children's playground.
The furniture, the bar finishes, and the lighting was project-managed by Gavin. Different types of lighting are used in different areas, and his choices reflect the recycled theme.
“It’s very warm and inviting and I’ve been getting good feedback from other hoteliers and architects,” Gavin says. “We wanted to fit in with the environment, so we’ve used lots of greens and heritage colours, and it seemed to fit with what the architects proposed.
“Bergstrom Architects really nailed it with their choice of materials and colours. They understood what I was after on the project.”
Local flavour
Bergstrom Architects director Tom Bergstrom says that the tweaks they suggested to the design included improving the flow at the entry points and also creating some contrast between different spaces in the pub.
“It was one big open room, so we wanted to create separation between the different areas and provide definition without isolating parts of the pub,” Bergstrom says. In terms of layout, the bistro, kitchen and outdoor terrace on the far end attracts diners, families and kids. At the opposite end is the gaming area and sports bar, and a main bar that converts into a live entertainment space.
The brickwork links the interior and exterior design.
“It’s a nice mix, with the sports bar packed on State of Origin, while on weekends and Mother’s Day, the bistro is packed with diners. This creates a venue that gets those ebbs and flows so it always feels comfortable but busy,” Bergstrom says.
They also needed to create a venue that suited the different demographics of the local area. Huntlee is a brand new neighbourhood, which means its population includes first home buyers, young families, and tradies working around the Hunter and in Newcastle.
This meant the pub needed to have good pub dining and kids entertainment for families, as well as a sports bar, and good live entertainment once or twice a month. “We needed to create a space that suited these different demographics, so adaptability around the entertainment offering was key.
Home-spun
“We’ve done a few new-build pubs, and the trick is to make something new look warm and inviting and lived in, and we did that by using natural materials and textures to give it that lived-in feeling that everyone loves but they don’t know why they love it,” Bergstrom says.
“It’s like an extended living area where you can watch sport, hang out with friends, and Jason did great job of the furniture, and that fitted into that aesthetic.
The busy bistro operates all day long.
“When designing a venue, to have a publican who’s worked in building and in the pub industry is great – he brought ideas to the table and challenged us.”
Bergstrom says the interior design brought the outside in through the use of recycled brickwork. “There is a strong connection between the interior and exterior, and a warm character due to the use of natural materials, warm finishes, and lots of texture to create a rich environment.”
The outdoor area has also evolved, he says. “The original design was for a big open deck which was weather dependent, and we worked with Jason to develop it, and now it’s got a cover over it and a kids play area, and that really creates a real family zone on that side of the venue.”
Another challenge was the acoustics, given the pub’s plan to run entertainment and big rock bands, according to Bergstrom.
“We hired an acoustic engineer to assess that risk and to create a building envelope to contain that noise. This was one of our bigger challenges and was something we worked through.”
To do this, the windows have been heavy double-glazed, and the roof has extra layers of fibre cement sheeting to create mass to contain the noise in the venue. A black acoustic padding was also used to insulate the ceiling to stop noise from escaping.
Ahead of schedule
The building work started in February 2020, three weeks before Covid arrived, but the project managed to avoid getting caught up in the first lockdown.
“We were pretty lucky,” Gavin says. “The bank was supportive of our project and the construction industry continued on, so the building forged ahead and this enabled us to open in October just before Melbourne Cup, two months ahead of schedule.”
The pub’s opening, which featured Cessnock-bred Newcastle Knights legend Andrew Johns, was the culmination of five years of planning.
The bar makes use of recycled materials including old bridge timber to add the character of the area to add the character of the area.
“It was a great time to open, just before Melbourne Cup, although we were booked out and we had yet to sort out our teething problems, but the pub was an instant success,” Gavin says.
Huntlee Tavern now attracts locals and tourists, offers hospitality up to 19 hours a day, and also live entertainment.
“We have an all-day venue, and on Saturday nights after nine it turns into an entertainment venue. We open for breakfast at 7am and serve lunch and then dinner until 9.30 at night,” Gavin says.
That said, the popularity of the pub meant they struggled early on to staff up, especially the kitchen.
“We started with five in the kitchen and we went straight into doing over 500 covers per sitting, and it was full on. I’ve now got 22 in the kitchen team.
“Also, my cool room was too small, because we didn’t think it would be so busy, so we had to build another out the back.
“We thought things may slow down after the honeymoon period, but its several months on and we are still busy.”
