Renovation brings new world charm to old world pub

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Old pubs with old world charm are the staple along the main drag through the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.

One of these grand old dames, however has decided it is time for a makeover and with a new wardrobe and a bit of lippy, she has emerged as the newest contender as ‘Queen of Hannan Street’.

The Lot 35 is batting her eyelids at passing punters on the site that was once de Bernales, named after an entrepreneur who made a name for himself on the goldfields around the 1920s.

The roadhouse feel for her charms over the weekend leading up to the Diggers & Dealers Conference and visited for breakfast.

A quick look at the menu showed this new establishment means business and is ready to greet the morning comestible needs of conference delegates over the next few days.

First the big test – how is the coffee? Pretty bloody good, in fact there are more than a few Perth coffee houses that could take note of how a good hot, strong coffee should be made.

We went for the homemade baked beans with bacon and sausages – they say a picture tells a thousand words so…

 

As a town that rides on the fortunes of the mining industry, Kalgoorlie has done it pretty hard over the past few years while riding out the current downturn.

Businesses up and down Hannan Street have come and gone, most performing the latter, which some observers might say makes the move by the owners of The Lot to undertake a renovation on such a grand scale somewhat optimistic.

The owners of The Lot realised that amongst the all the beautiful old hotels in Kalgoorlie, an opening existed for a new bar with a modern aspect.

“We opened in early May this year with a completely new model for Kalgoorlie,” The Lot 35 operations manager Nathan Keogh told The Roadhouse.

“I think most people are accepting that we are trying to do something different here.”

Owned by Peter Bartlett and Geoff Green, The Lot has undergone some major renovations to bring it into the twenty-first century.

The two owners, and Keogh, all have long family connections to Kalgoorlie and when the renovations were being planned they looked close to home for people to do the job.

“We contracted a local builder, Ian Anderson, and he did a fantastic job,” Keogh said.

“He used local tradies, local supply lines. Anywhere we could tip back into the local economy, rather than heading down to Perth, we did.

“It was probably our proudest part of renovating the pub – that we were able to do it all locally – and we were able to prove that you don’t have to Perth to get the right people to do something good and really positive for the town.”

It’s already looking like a busy week for The Lot with a number of Diggers-related functions already booked in word is sure to spread through the big white tent pretty fast.

Our only hesitation in recommending dropping into The Lot for brekkie while you’re in town this week is that we might struggle to get a table.