The Gundaroo Inn (known colloquially as the Gundaroo Pub), once again faced closures in 2025 due to a shift in management that saw the iconic establishment closed without any sort of announcement before the Christmas shutdown period.
For the community, this meant more than just missing out on a schnitty at the pub. The pub’s latest closure brings back memories of the notable dispute in 2021 between owner George Nicola and then-publican Chris “Choppy” Connor after an impasse had been reached over a management dispute. This marked the first time the pub had closed its doors in over a century.
This begun a repeated cycle with the Inn changing hands multiple times in the years following.
Established in 1872 by Noah Cheesman as the Commercial Hotel (later renamed the Star Wine Saloon, then the Gundaroo Wine Bar under the Crowe family, which earned the nickname ‘Matt Crowe’s Wine Bar’), the pub saw its second major closure a few weeks before Christmas in 2025.
While local groups scrambled to find a new location for events (such as the RFS’s beloved annual Santa Run) and cancel bookings, the closure saw the community band together to ensure no one’s Christmas was soured.
Despite past turbulence, 2026 brings renewed optimism. The Inn has opened back up for visitors this year after the lease was sold to Canberran and new publican, Rad Ivetic. Rad brings with him a wealth of experience from within the food industry, and locals may recognise him from his thriving Fyshwick (ACT) business, Silk Café, which he dedicates his morning to before working afternoons/evenings at the pub.
Rad’s fascination with the country pub extends beyond the past year, after originally expressing interest three years before, when the former publican, Create Catering, took over the reins.
Following the snap closure in December, Rad received a call from the Nicola’s, asking if he was still interested in the Inn.
“We stayed in touch over the years, and I’ve run into [George] over the years,” he says. “He knew I was still interested and it went from there.”
Morale for the establishment has been at an all-time low in the local populace, and Rad says reinserting himself and the pub back into the community’s hearts is the first action to be completed on his to do list.
“It’s been let go… in many ways,” he says. “It needs some love and some care put back into it. “Some of it is visible and a lot is not. There are both sides that really need a lot of attention, and we’ve got a plan in place.”
Over Christmas, he says everything happened really quickly. “[It] didn’t give us a lot of time to get the place to exactly how we’d like to open,” he says. “I could feel that there was a lot of pressure for it to open. “So, what we did was to get the area [completed] to a really, really decent level.”
Starting with a basic food menu, new team and new chef, Rad says they plan to gradually increase everything on the menu as they go.
“It’s testing the facility,” he says. “We need to know what can work there and we need to know our equipment is capable as well, so we are slowly building all of that.” Keeping it “simple and lowkey” by focusing on the facility and the service itself, Rad says he plans to build a solid foundation before introducing anything.
“It’s a responsibility to keep the venue open for the community,” he says. “It’s not just a business, it’s more. “That’s a rare sort of circumstance in this day and age.” “We are doing right by the venue and the community and in doing so, doing right by the venue too.”
Restoring, recognising and celebrating the pub’s rich history is Rad’s priority. “I think history is very important and everyone should know about it,” he says. “One thing that I am doing is learning more about the town and the venue.”
With this in mind, Rad says he has already reached out to some of the community’s most knowledgeable people to get their input on how to restore the establishment’s former glory. “It’s not something that I can make a decision on [alone], and I’ve got to go by [their knowledge and suggestions] and pose ideas to the community,” he says. “You’ve got to use the history and maintain it as opposed to coming in there, doing your own thing and imposing something that’s not relevant. “It has to be relevant.”
Internally, visitors will notice new furniture, restored flooring and a tidy bar, with more restorations and improvements planned for the near future. Celebrating a quiet opening in January, Rad says he is excited to work with locals to build the pub back up to its former identity as a meeting place and social hub for the community.
“Pop down, have a look and tell us what you think,” he says. “All feedback is welcome. Good, bad or ugly, it’s all feedback and as long as it’s genuine and you let us know, we’ll just continue to improve.”
– Elizabeth Kovacs
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