One Sydney publican has shown that where there’s a will, there’s a way after using his electric car to keep his pub operating through a Friday night blackout.
The Mitch Hotel in Alexandria lost power for several hours last Friday while repairs were carried out on nearby power lines, leaving the popular venue facing a potential shutdown during one of the busiest nights of the week.
But owner Phil Anderson was not prepared to call last drinks.
After making his way across from his other venue, the Sneaky Possum, Anderson connected his electric BYD to the pub and began using it as a makeshift power source.
The car supplied enough electricity to keep key equipment running between 3pm and 9pm, with staff connecting appliances individually to keep the operation ticking over.
Anderson said he didn’t have to make any tough calls about what received electricity.
“We plugged in everything we could, thinking it was going to be a thirty-minute outage, and then were super surprised that it handled it for four hours without an issue,” he told PubTIC.
“I had done a similar thing while camping over New Years with a slurpy machine, speakers and a projector but this was far more gear and it didn’t miss a beat.
“It was literally plug and play.”
That meant customers could still order pizzas, grab a beer and listen to music while the rest of the venue sat without its usual power supply.
The pub later shared footage of the unusual setup online, showing the EV connected to the venue as the team carried on with business as usual.
The post quickly attracted attention, with social media users applauding the publican for finding a solution rather than sending everyone home.
Even the BYD importer reached out, asking the pub to be part of an ‘I love the Shark’ video series.
The blackout also brought out plenty of classic pub community spirit, with patrons offering to track down generators, source ice and lend a hand wherever they could.
Rather than turning into a disaster, the outage became part of the night’s entertainment.
Anderson has spent two decades working in hospitality and knows better than most that things rarely go exactly to plan. His approach was to keep calm, work with what was available and make sure customers could still enjoy their Friday night.
The result was a slightly darker version of the Mitch Hotel, but one where the beers continued flowing, pizzas kept coming out of the kitchen and the music did not stop.
The unexpected EV-powered pub night also gave customers a memorable story to take home, proving that a blackout does not necessarily have to mean lights out.
Anderson said the team appreciated the support from the community.
“One of my favourite comments was someone saying they still had a great pizza,” he continued.
“Being able to deliver great product while under that stress is an absolute credit to my team and something I’m very proud of.”
Anderson was also quick to praise Ausgrid. The power had been shut off as a precaution, the crew arrived at six with a truck that was broken, yet the crew did what it took to have the pub back on at nine.
Sometimes, all it takes is a switched-on publican, a fully charged car and a bit of ingenuity to keep the party going.
But Anderson said it was more than that. The team had been working hard to make The Mitch a welcoming local, so having the neighbourhood behind them meant a lot.
“There’s a car in the headline, but it was people who kept the night going.”
