Hotel Collingwood

New horizons

Coffee roaster and café operator Julien Moussi discusses his pub debut.

THE NEWLY renamed and refurbished red brick corner pub, Hotel Collingwood, has traded its Scottish tartan carpet for timber floors and espresso martinis.

Melbourne’s fifth lockdown brought the renovation of the pub formerly known as the Robert Burns forward by two weeks. The pub was successfully launched last month during Victoria’s sixth lockdown with a barbie and takeaways that drew 2200 socially distanced customers over three days.

The launch also marked the pub debut for Melbourne-based café operator Julien Moussi, whose Only Hospitality Group (OHG) acquired the pub’s leasehold off outgoing publican Gerry Nass a month earlier.

Inglewood Coffee Roasters is the beating heart of the Only Hospitality business. In addition to the roasting facility, the group also operates 15 cafes around Melbourne. “Coffee is a big focus, and our roaster is the number one entity in our portfolio,” Moussi says.

According to Moussi, adding pubs to the Only Hospitality fold has always been part of his plan. Growing up, his family operated pubs in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so it was a natural next step. Moreover, Only Hospitality has an eye on more pub acquisitions in the future.

“We are certainly always looking to expand our portfolio and we are looking for venues that are underdone, ones that we can put our touches on and improve,” Moussi says.

Hotel Collingwood

Just as with its cafes, Only Hospitality seeks to create hospitality spaces that are welcoming, comfortable and memorable, and with this in mind the pub’s gas heating has been replaced with open fires, converted back to their original state for a warmer feel. Espresso martinis are another fitting addition, with Only Hospitality supplying the pub with its own premium on tap version which it plans to roll out to other pubs down the track.

Lucas group alumni John Woo and Allan Hwang are heading up the kitchen team to deliver a menu with classic pub grub and mod-Asian beer food. Craft beer and natural wines will also feature, alongside an extensive cocktail list.

Moussi says the move into pubs offers synergies for the group as a whole, such as boosting job options for the group’s employees. “We have 300 staff, so this will open up more opportunities for them.

Julien Moussi

“There are also some great advantages in having night and day venues, and we are seeing lots of efficiencies,” he says. “I also like the idea of creating fun venues, and I think our cafes are really buzzy and I’d like to achieve that with a night venue.”

The pub was renamed to make a strong point that the venue has a new lease on life, according to Moussi, who says the strategy has paid off with the group’s cafes.

“The bones of this venue are fantastic, the way it flows. It just needed refinement. The façade is unique, and the local area is amazing – it’s a bit of a hub. But if you want to make a venue pop and have hype, there needs to be a significant change.

“You need to put yourself out there, and obviously that’s risky, but every time we take a venue over, we always rebrand it. It’s what we do.”

Moussi says that while launching midlockdown is nerve-wracking, the coffee side of the business has remained strong. “It’s been a great backbone for us, but we are still hurting. We’re just trying to push through and be ready for when we open.”