Dave Tomic’s bellicose Black Rhino has chased down another prized local in Millicent, adding the Grand Hotel to the growing portfolio.
The elegant two-storey Grand Hotel, built in 1900 in the Federation style from local sandstone, is the most recent hotel to inhabit the town, behind the only other two nearby pubs, the Somerset and George hotels.
Black Rhino Group (BRG) counts 20 hotels in Victoria, and began expanding into South Australia in 2021, picking up pubs in Cardinia, Coober Pedy and Port Pirie, sometimes multiple locations at once.
In June 2021 BRG acquired the freehold going concern of Millicent’s George Hotel from Dale Wasley, who had held it 20 years.
Tomsic says he has amassed his own building team, and makes a practice of tuning each asset to be a proper pub.
“No-one spends any money on these places,” he says.
“They run them into the ground. People just want somewhere nice, with decent food, but the locals feel like they’ve been deserted.
“I do a reno, the locals can’t believe it and the town loves it. You spend, they come!”
Since purchasing the George Tomsic has done a full renovation, and reports trade has increased accordingly.
He says the Grand already has strong takeaway sales and the accommodation goes well, and is “in really good nick”, but BRG will still do “a bit of a reno” to bring it in line with the group approach.
Millicent is a town of around 5K people, roughly 30 minutes from Mount Gambier and 400 kilometres south of Adelaide.
Tomsic confirmed two is enough in this locale, and he won’t be vying for a monopoly with the Somerset. He says his approach is a relatively simple formula, with paying it forward at the forefront of his successes.
“It’s all about putting on the right offer … the right prices for beer and meals, and a good atmosphere. We might adjust the prices a bit, but no-one complains.
“I’m just a normal operator. The reason I’ve been successful is because I spend money.”
