Award-winning hotelier, Alistair Flower has expanded his North Coast hotel group with the acquisition of the Hastings Hotel in Wauchope.
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Mr Flower already owns the Settlers Inn and Fernhill Tavern in Port Macquarie, and recently bought the Lake Cathie Tavern.
Last year, the Settlers Inn won an Australian Hotels Association award for community service and achievement.
Alistair says his group bought the business as well as the building, and see it as an excellent opportunity to buy a good pub in a town with a great community.
"That will fit our model of how we have run Settlers," he said.
"We have made it the real centre of the community and we think we can do that in Wauchope. Over time, we will upgrade the facilities. I will put a lot of focus on food and make sure we have really got traditional pub meals.
"I want the Hastings Hotel to go back to being a traditional country pub which concentrates on customer service and engagement, good hearty meals and being the centrepiece for the local community. We see a real opportunity to look after the locals, and also make it a great destination for day-trippers from other parts of the Hastings," he added.
He also wants to work with local businesses to make Wauchope a great town to visit, and says it will work really well with the beautification of the main street.
"Community is the foremost thing we want to concentrate on," he said.
Belinda Andersen, who ran the Hastings Hotel for ten years, had a party for all their customers, suppliers, sales reps, old and new staff on March 24 to say thank you and say goodbye.
"We wanted to celebrate all the good times, and the great people we met," said Bel.
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