There is fresh hope this week of a renovation rescue of the Commercial Hotel in Yass with a keen independent purchaser revealed as Andrew Turnball, a Canberra Entrepreneur, born and bred in Yass.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Yass as a community and a lot of confidence in the long-term prospect of a business like that in Yass.”
Turnbull is the Chairman of the Investment Management Group, which recently spent 75 million dollars acquiring other pubs in Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo, Wellington and Mudgee.
“The business is historical in nature and ideal in location, but it is a daunting task when you look at the current predicament of the building.”
“If the right venue was built, I think the economics stack up, and I think it can be successful and a great asset for the community,” Andrew said.
Growing up, Andrew attended Yass Primary and Yass High School, whilst playing for the Yass Magpies up until Under 19’s before leaving for university in Canberra and can recall vividly sharing his time across the pubs in Yass.
“Being a small country town, you frequented all the pubs, and the Commercial was an attractive venue.”
“At different stages, different pubs were more popular than others, but I have very fond memories at the Commercial of the pub,” he said.
Maintaining what makes the Commercial Hotel distinguishable is important to Andrew. Still, he wanted to reiterate that this does not mean it will go back to being a traditional country pub.
“The size of the block is massive, but we really want to maintain its look from the exterior.”
“It’s our strong intention to maintain the original building; it’s our strong intention to maintain the external verandah and roofline so that it looks like the Commercial.”
“Imagine if you could not only maintain the nostalgia and heritage of the Commercial – the pub but turn it into a brand-new venue, blending it with strong food and beverage options and some accommodation,” he said.
Andrew says he is playing the long game and willing to take on further expenses if it means getting the project right.
“You can do a quick fix and spend the least amount of money possible to make some money, but what I’m looking at is something that’s iconic and will attract people to the region.”
“With the proximity a bit closer to Sydney and obviously closer to Canberra, that gave me a lot of confidence that an opportunity could present if you get it right.”
“I’m looking at this more as a generational asset where we can build something for the community to be proud of and create a lot of employment and in a prime location that I’m going to hold long term,” he said.
Whilst he admitted the emotion of building something special for his hometown did play a factor in the decision, he declared that he would not have undertaken the project if he didn’t believe in its economic validity.
“It’s a blend of emotion and history for me growing up in Yass and with family still in Yass, and I see a long-term opportunity.”
“It’s financially viable; being an accountant, it’s still got to make sense money-wise.”
“I’m not going to get emotional and build something that’s a white elephant that looks beautiful but doesn’t make any money,” he said.
Andrew believes his care for the town of Yass will be the reason his plans will succeed and hopes he can add to the culture already present in the town.
“I’m not this big, bad developer coming from Sydney or something like that who’s taking advantage of an opportunity.”
“I see this as a long-term play, and I’ve got strong ties to the community, and I think if we get it right, we’ve got a good opportunity to add to the strong community and strong culture that Yass has already got.”
Andrew is also a majority shareholder of the extremely popular Public Bar in Manuka.
“I’ve been involved with that for five years, and that got me excited in terms of the sector,” he said.
Andrew plans to renovate the Commercial Hotel with his brother-in-law Anthony Barrie. The latter owns local company Complete Civil Pty Ltd.
Their shelf company, Commercial Hotel Yass Pty Ltd, was established in December of 2020, and the pair now have until December 2022 to confirm plans and secure the purchase of the property.
I personally am very keen to have a beer at a refurbished Commercial Hotel one day.
Max O’Driscoll
