The Rydal Pub (Hotel Alexander) located just 15 mins from Lithgow will soon be entering a new and exciting era with its recent sale to Johnston Bros Hospitality Group.

This latest purchase is the third hotel in central west NSW in less than a year, to be bought by Johnston Bros Hospitality Group.

The Johnston family have been farming in the area for almost 10 years, but made their first hotel acquisition in October last year when they bought their local watering hole, the historic Tarana Hotel.

The O’Connell Hotel, (image above) was also bought by Johnston Bros Hospitality Group in an off market transaction in March this year and is nearing the final stages of work required to re-open the pub which had been shut for over 18 months under it's previous ownership.

Byram Johnston, owner of the group said he “had been encouraged by local sentiment around the Rydal Pub and after speaking with many of the locals it became increasingly clear that purchasing the Hotel was a unique opportunity to scale the groups resources and breathe new life into the Rydal pub.”

“Our philosophy is to buy local and hire local. We stock local wines, beers, spirits and produce as well as hiring local staff.”

Nathan Johnston, the group’s operations and communications manager said “There is an opportunity with the Alexander to open the Café (connected to the pub) six or even seven days a week as well as increasing the opening hours of the pub beyond what they currently are. The locals want to see their pub open more regularly again and offer up the staple counter meals you’ve come to expect at a country pub.”

Nathan said that “Due to it’s locality to the Blue Mountains, there may however be an exciting opportunity to offer The Alexander as a destination pub, boosting tourism in the area by serving up cuisine people want to travel for, whilst still keeping the pub meals the locals expect. As with all our pubs, we have a strong focus on community engagement, respecting the needs of the locals, maintaining the heritage of the pubs and giving back to the community. It’s early days, but making the Alexander a destination pub would only be done if it didn’t impact the integrity of such an iconic local country pub. Being mindful of the importance of country hospitality is what sets our business apart from city based hospitality business who don’t necessarily understand what makes a country pub work. Word travels fast in the country communities, so if you’re not respecting the locals and what they want, then you’re not off to a good start.”

Johnston Bros Hospitality Group’s latest acquisition will allow the sharing of staff, management and resources between their venues.

“Hiring local staff is an important element of our business and moving forward we intend to offer both employment and training opportunities to the local community across all our venues,”.

Situated on the original route between Sydney and Bathurst, the Hotel Alexander was an important fixture in the once bustling village of Rydal. When changes were made in the late 1920’s to the Great Western Highway, the town was no longer a through-fare and Rydal lost a lot of the passing trade, reducing the town from over 6 licensed Inns down to just the Hotel Alexander, hence the Alexander was dubbed the Rydal Pub.

Maintaining the heritage, the traditions and the authenticity of a country pub is important to Johnston Bros Hospitality Group and with three historic country pubs now in their portfolio, the family understands the importance a country pub plays in the community and the intention with the Rydal Pub will be to continue providing the unique country hospitality with a renewed perspective that will be beneficial to locals and the wider community.

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