After months of lockdown, the iconic Yandina Hotel has been given a much needed renovation, and re-opened for business again on  July 3.

“The Hotel is 129 years old and this is the first time in its history that it has closed its doors,” said owner, Rob Kingston. 

“The renovations began two days into lockdown. It just seemed like a very good opportunity to get the bigger jobs done and keep my staff employed with the assistance of JobKeeper.”

Built on Gympie Road around 1888, the Australian Hotel (as it was originally named) was granted a licence in 1889. In 1891 it was hitched to a team of bullocks and moved on skids to its current site in Stevens Street.

“During the move, the Pub continued to serve beer, it didn’t close even then,” said Rob. “In fact, while it was moving, the publican’s wife was upstairs giving birth! If the walls could only talk it would be fascinating.”

The Hotel is Heritage listed and Rob and his team have been extremely respectful of this. “There are some sections of original flooring which needed to be concrete sanded to bring them back to the beautiful pale honey colour they are now,” Rob said. 

“Newer sections have been designed to fit into the original architecture in an almost seamless way and we have added some quirky touches as well, including timber chairs from Poland and a stunning Blue Gum bench bar which was sourced from a local farm,” he said. “It seemed fitting because this was traditionally a Pub for farmers and labourers.”

Rob purchased the Pub on July 3, 2017. In that time, he has added upgrades such as air conditioning and new furniture, and has worked hard on the bistro to give it a family friendly feel.

On his third anniversary in the business, Rob reopened the Hotel with just three days notice. “It was a pretty hectic three days, that’s for sure,” he said. 

“We thought we had an extra week, so it was all hands on deck to re-stock and get ready to look after customers again. We also had to prepare for COVID compliance, which is obviously something we all need to be aware of now.”

One of the biggest challenges faced in re-opening was supplying beer on tap. “You wouldn’t believe it, but it was extremely difficult to get kegs in for the opening,” said Rob. 

“On our first day back we were forced to sell bottled beer because kegs were so thin on the ground. And after months of lockdown, all everyone wanted to drink was draught beer. But by the second day, we had it sorted.”

At the moment, the Hotel is serving meals and providing some live music. “Our patrons are really looking forward to a meal out and some entertainment,” Rob said. “Hopefully as time passes, and restrictions are relaxed we will be able to offer more live music and dancing.”

After her 100 day beauty sleep, Yandina’s grand old lady still has some way to go to being fully restored to her former glory. 

“Our upstairs accommodation is being given a once over now and will reopen when it is complete,” Rob said. “There are sure to be plenty more stories in the old girl yet.”

• The Yandina Hotel is at 1 Stevens St, Yandina. Phone 5446 7341. yandinahotel.com.au. Facebook: @YandinaHotel