Having graced main drag William Street since 1864, the Oxford Bathurst has been reimagined to meet the evolving demands of the community and guests, becoming a beacon of NSW’s central west. The extremely large format hotel resides on a block of around 4,000sqm, with roughly 2,000sqm of trading floor plus a huge bottleshop.
For the past 23 years it has been under the care of Ash Lyons, licensee and GM of his company Lion Majestic, which also holds some other hospitality assets. He has recently taken the crown of Bathurst’s longest serving licensee from former titleholder Robert Taylor, who has been out of the game a few years and is currently mayor.
Ash sees a strong demand in the region for mixed-use developments that cater to families, community groups and visitors, and which “stand out in their class”.
The philosophy was to bring something new and exciting to town, to draw in visitors and foster a sense of community. The challenge was how to create an inviting atmosphere and modern facilities catering to diverse audiences while maintaining a unique, aesthetically pleasing flair in an historic structure.
Growing up in Sydney’s Shire, Ash worked at his cousins’ pubs such as the Sylvania Hotel and Caringbah Inn from the age of 15, doing beer lines and graduating to bar manager of the heaving Coyote’s nightclub.
Wanting to know more of the finer side of hospitality, he secured a job with the Ritz Carlton hotel company, where for several years he worked and learned the high standards of 5-star operations.
But over time he says he “lost passion” for life in Sydney, particularly for raising kids. Having never been further west than the Blue Mountains he convinced wife, who was pregnant at the time, to embark on an adventure, with a 5-year timeframe but no clue what might come.
Finding their way a few hours west of Sydney, the couple looked at some hotels before spotting the Oxford, on the drive between the CBD and Mount Panorama.
“It was an absolute shambles, but an iconic hotel with such a great history,” Ash recalls.
“It’s on the main road. It was just needing some love.
“I said to the wife, ‘that’s the one I want’.”
Being admittedly “young, dumb …” and full of big ideas, the Lion took on the Oxford.
MOVING WITH THE TIMES
Around five years into their tenure Ash set about redeveloping the hotel for the first time. The focus was on late night entertainment, with a thriving nightclub. Everybody had a story of nights at The Oxford.
Being an operator that focuses on f&b and entertainment, the pub came to offer the 500-600-seat BTown BBQ restaurant, which found a niche in the hearts of patrons and over time regularly reached capacity.
When the time came to consider expansion of the operation, Ash pondered buying another pub to build another big restaurant before deciding it could be done at the Oxford, under the same hotel licence.
Still onsite seven days a week, he spoke with customers and Bathurst residents on a daily basis to gauge the needs of the community. He feels extensive travelling has allowed him to uncover insights into demographic trends.
The thinking was that by incorporating feedback and vision into the redevelopment process, they could create spaces that not only satisfy current needs but remain adaptable for future growth.
“It was time to move forward with a more contemporary look that appeals to current trends and expectations,” he says.
This decision marked the beginning of a process that would go on to take a decade of planning and dreaming, costing many hours and a pretty penny, punctuated by a pandemic.
Late 2019 The Oxford had an approved DA for an extensive renovation. Wanting to hedge against overcapitalising, he was determined to keep within a strict budget and had lessened some ideals to make ends meet.
Then COVID hit, and all work and thoughts of expansion ceased for two years.
However, when normality began to return Ash noticed that big regional hospitality properties were benefitting from the increase in domestic travel and people seeking tree-changes, and were fetching valuations more in line with their high-profile brethren in the cities.
“When I realised the market had changed, and regional pubs were getting much higher sale prices, it opened my imagination,” Ash explains.
“So I basically tore up the DA and plans, throwing away $150K of work.
“I called the designers and said ‘we’re starting again’. I redesigned the pub the way I wanted, and we cut no corners.”
New DAs were lodged, approvals secured, and the construction team assembled.
The brief for extensions to the 150-year-old pub was for a collaboration between architectural design and calming, modern aesthetics. The detail is seen in the materials and finishes, from the traditional original brick walls and tiles to the integration of modern features. Décor, fixtures, fittings and furnishings were each chosen to complement the new and old architecture.
The integration of technology helped transform spaces into versatile environments equipped for contemporary needs, and the overhaul provided opportunity to upgrade all systems, including heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing.
Ash says it wasn’t a renovation, it was a build, which came in at around $12 million.
Led by Mammoth Projects, the revised works took two years of planning and another year of construction – less a few months from October to December, as the Bathurst 1000 and Christmas tourists took over the town.
The result was what might be described as a second pub, on top, allowing two different markets and demographics. They are run as two pubs, employing two different teams and management structures, under one licence.
At ground level comes Brocks, a 600-seat Italian restaurant serving quality fare, inspired by Ash’s time working in Canada, fulfilling his goal to open another huge restaurant in a town of 40,000 people.
“I just had a gut feeling it would work, and the town needed it,” he offers.
It was anticipated that opening Brocks would likely take 20-30 per cent of business from BTown BBQ, upstairs. But in fact the opposite has happened, and the restyled BTown BBQ has itself grown another 20 per cent.
Adding to their appeal are the rooftop terrace bars, with views toward Mudgee, the decks and outdoor areas, which are vital in country pubs. All highly visible from the street, these bolster the bustling diners in attracting more patrons.
Beyond being a striking example of new complementing old, the new deck was a major milestone due to the close involvement with both heritage and council. It sees a classic hotel building connected to a new architecturally designed balcony built over council land. Ash declares it took “forward open thinking” between authorities and the designers, and “all of us working together to create something current and unique”.
Complementing the bars and voluminous foodservice, there is a large function space catering to weddings and events, complete with its own private rooftop bar, and discreetly adding to the mix a visually impressive and unique gaming room, which is fastidiously kept clean and comfortable and reportedly pulls patronage from larger rooms.
Ash says the variety of offerings both assist and benefit from each other.
“The way the economy is going, food and alcohol are not getting cheaper, so we need to create Disneylands for people to come and spend time in. Then they’ll come for the environment.
“What I tried to create here is a precinct; a pub crawl within a pub. People can come and spend the whole day here.”
WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS
Situated in a long valley, with plenty of flat land and the all-important water supplies, Bathurst may be Australia’s oldest inland settlement but it’s a growth market that is finding a lot of young and new Australian families migrating to escape the downsides of the big smoke.
“This is a new frontier,” Ash declares. “It’s only got upside. Growth is going to be incredible here over the next couple of decades.
“That’s the reason we came here with a 5-year plan and we’re still here 25 years later. We just couldn’t imagine leaving the community, because I don’t think we’d find anywhere better.”
Bathurst is more than an annual international motor racing juggernaut. It hosts all manner of sports and entertainment events and sees a massive number of transients passing through.
It was deemed very important the new Oxford had strong visual appeal, to help attract more visitors and even enhance local business and partnership opportunities.
Wanting to stand out, calculated decisions were made about the design, functionality and service modes, including how it photographs and presents on social media, which is vital for catching the attention of people coming to town.
“I say to people ‘think of the biggest regional pub you can, then put two of them on top of each other’,” he offers.
“A lot of people go ‘Ash, are you scared about the money you’ve invested?’ I say I’d actually be scared if I hadn’t done it.
“We future-proof our businesses by creating destinations.”
The measure of the Oxford’s success extends beyond monetary outcomes, aiming to create a positive impact on the community and environment while fostering meaningful relationships with customers and the team. A major part of this is immersing guests in comfort: traditional, new and everything in between.
“It’s always hard refurbishing a hotel this size. To do it twice has probably been the greatest challenge and greatest achievement in my whole career,” Ash says. “We do things differently here.”
Country towns typically don’t sport as many natural attractions or activity, making the pub an important social hub. One that offers quality casual dining, with entertainment, family-friendly facilities and playgrounds, function areas and inviting outdoor spaces, will always be the first and best choice for the locals’ all-important meetings, wedding receptions and social gatherings.
“Pubs like this are community assets.
“They might be independently owned, but that’s irrelevant. After I’m dead and gone this pub will be here another 100 or 200 years, and I’m proud of that.”
