In 2025 Toowoomba’s Oonoonba Hotel began an ambitious $6 million transformation, kick-starting by reverting to its original name, The Fairfield.
Now the hotel has realised its aims, to the delight of both its regulars and new patrons.
The 124-year-old venue underwent its refurbishment in three stages. The initial stage upgraded its gaming room, while the second ramped up the works with an extension constructed to house a beer garden, indoor kids’ playground and a 180-seat bistro.
In the final stage, the front bar received a complete overhaul, becoming a sports bar with the latest audiovisual technology and increased seating, after the bar was repositioned and its cold room removed.
Completed just before Christmas, owners PMJ Operations, who purchased the hotel in 2023, opted for a soft launch given the pressure of months of working alongside construction activity as patron numbers and staffing grew.
The pub has expanded from a staff of seventeen to now employing forty, while the weekly meal count has risen from 240 to up to two thousand.
Brisbane-based construction company Caughley and Co led the project, employing over one hundred local tradies.
One of the key attractors in the renovation is a wood-fired pizza oven imported from Italy, serving Neapolitan-style pizzas under the eye of an Italian pizza chef.
Owner Paul Fraser said the difficulties have been worth it.
“I’d like to think that, where we’ve been and where we are now, we’re a completely different business, and the local community has given us so much support,” said Fraser.
Already a major sponsor of South’s Rugby League Club first-grade and junior teams, headquartered roughly 900 kilometres south of Toowoomba, PMJ say the venue will be finding more ways to actively give back to its community.
