Fears the Oturehua Railway Hotel would have to close its doors for good have been put to bed.<\/p>\n
The 136-year-old Central Otago pub has been bought by Wedderburn Tavern owner Angela Stockdale.<\/p>\n
The fully licensed Oturehua premises was bought by Grahame and Liz Jones in 2009, but decided it was time to retire three years ago and put it on the market.<\/p>\n
However, they struggled to find buyers.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, they set a deadline of June 1, and they were prepared to close it and walk away if a buyer could not be found.<\/p>\n
Ms Stockdale said she could not stand by and watch the historic hotel close.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It’s super important for the community, it’s important for the Otago Central Rail Trail, and it would have a big impact on tourism in the area and other hospitality operators in Oturehua.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The accommodation providers – if there’s nowhere for their clients to eat, then they’re not going to have guests.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
She said it would also have a major impact on local residents.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It’s a huge part of it. They are a very, very big part of the community.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I know what Wedderburn is to my locals. It\u2019s a place for them to meet at the end of the day when they’ve been working outside by themselves all day, they can come in and talk to people who are doing the same thing as what they’re doing and throw ideas around and discuss what’s going good and what’s going bad and ideas on how to make it better or do it differently.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018And I’d assume it’s the same at Oturehura.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Stockdale said she had been negotiating the purchase over the past month, and was pleased the sale had been completed.<\/p>\n
The hotel comes with a three-bedroom home, guest accommodation and an acre of freehold land.<\/p>\n
She declined to say what plans, if any, she had for the pub.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I don\u2019t take over until the beginning of September.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It’s way, way off and there’s a lot of planning to do before I get in there.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It’s a really exciting opportunity for me. Really exciting.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The main focus will be to get it open regularly and consistently, so people can come and enjoy good hospitality and a place that’s warm and inviting for people to go to.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n