The fireplaces are burning again at inner Melbourne’s Friendly Societies Hotel, marking the return of one of the suburb’s oldest pubs after almost two years sitting empty.
Reopened in June by Leo Weston and his parents, Clare and Nathan, Friendly Societies reclaimed the name the Abbotsford pub had carried from 1889 until 1984, before switching to the now-defunct The Carringbush Hotel.
But while the original name has returned, the family’s ambitions are firmly focused on the future.
“We’re not trying to reinvent anything,” Leo told Broadsheet.
“People just want to feel connected to the place in a really uncomplicated way.”
Nathan had most recently served as general manager at Richmond’s Cherry Tree Hotel, bringing decades of pub experience to the project.
Together, the family refreshed the interiors while keeping the building’s character intact, creating the kind of front bar that invited people to settle in rather than move on.
That philosophy carried through to the kitchen.
Chris O’Dwyer, former Retreat Hotel head chef put together a menu built around pub classics and backed by a weekly specials board that changed with whatever produce or ideas landed in the kitchen.
The specials are more personalised. A friend had recently arrived with a basket of locally foraged pine mushrooms, which became fresh pappardelle. Cumquats from another mate’s farm found their way into a sticky winter pudding. Nathan’s memories of travelling through Canada also inspired a rich clam chowder that featured as a seasonal special.
Leo said the approach to the menu was collaborative, with the whole team pitching ideas.
That collaborative approach appears to have struck a chord. Within weeks of reopening, locals had settled into a rhythm of dropping by several nights a week, whether it was for dinner, a pint or simply a seat by the fire.
The drinks list followed the same uncomplicated approach. Independent Victorian breweries rotated through the taps as kegs emptied, with producers such as Sailors Grave and Bridge Road Brewers regularly pouring.
For the Westons, becoming Melbourne’s next destination pub was never the objective.
The goal was something many publicans would argue was harder to achieve. They want Friendly Societies to become part of the neighbourhood again.
“You’ve got to have good food. That’s almost the easy part,” says Nathan.
“A lot of it is reading people, seeing what they want and creating relationships.”
