Soon to be the new owner of Bermagui Beach Hotel, Epochal Hotels CEO Glenn Piper, with current owners Yannis Gantner and Claire Wheaton. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
After eight years as a family-run business, Bermagui Beach Hotel is changing hands to become part of a portfolio of seven coastal pubs.
Sydney-based Epochal Hotels will take ownership at the end of June.
Group CEO Glenn Piper said he had assured the staff in Bermagui their jobs were safe and said they would continue to run the hotel, now with the ability to lean on the resources of Epochal Hotels’ head office.
Mr Piper said there would be some ‘enhancements’, including upgrading furniture and optimising seating in the waterfront area. Mr Piper said he was considering bringing back the shuttle bus service for patrons.
Current owners Yannis Gantner and his wife Claire Wheaton have transformed the pub since they took ownership in August 2017.
They made the pub far more family-friendly and accessible, moved the poker machines from the front to the back, and did an outstanding renovation of the accommodation.
In 2022 the pub won the Australian Hotel Association’s award for Best Deluxe Pub Accommodation and was shortlisted in the best regional casual dining category.
They also acquired a tightly-held motel next door and gave it an equally stunning makeover.
Yannis Gantner bought the neighbouring motel (to the right of the pub) and gave it a stunning makeover. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
Mr Gantner said they sincerely thanked the Bermagui community for its support over the past eight years, and most importantly their staff who had been a part of the journey, many since day one.
“We are incredibly honoured to be a part of the pub’s history and its renewal into a venue that we hope the town is proud of and feels connected to,” he said. “It’s now time to focus on our young kids and other ventures.”
Mr Piper said that when he came to inspect the pub he was drawn to Bermagui’s raw beauty, community warmth and laid-back rhythm, qualities that aligned seamlessly with the group’s values.
Bermagui Beach Hotel is a big part of the community, being a major sponsor of Sculpture Bermagui, and it supports many sporting activities in the town. Mr Piper said Bermagui Beach Hotel would continue to serve that role.
“We realise how important it is to engage with the community,” he said. “I have been to Sculpture Bermagui and enjoyed it.”
He said Epochal Hotels supported an outdoor sculpture exhibition that was held at Manly’s Q Station.
“So we are supporters of the arts and we enjoy sporting groups being in the pub,” Mr Piper said. “Any other opportunities to activate Bermagui we will look to be part of that.”
Epochal Hotels CEO Glenn Piper at the bar of Bermagui Beach Hotel. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
Mr Piper said that since its inception in 2020, Epochal Hotels had established itself as one of the leading brands in hospitality on the east coast. “I think there is a good opportunity to align Bermagui Beach Hotel with that group of venues.”
He said the group also had some of the best marketing people in the sector to promote Bermagui as an area to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
He said the Bermagui staff would also have the benefit of the group’s head office resources in areas such as procurement and suppliers, graphic design and general management, but there was no intention to change the pub along the lines of their Sydney venues.
“Our focus will be solely on creating the best local pub we can,” Mr Piper said. “We want the pub to be truly representative of the Bermagui area and that is what will draw people from further afield, serving the locals as best we can.”
While many sectors of the hospitality sector are struggling amid cost-of-living pressures, Mr Piper said history has shown that pubs are a bit more resilient during difficult economic times. “I believe that is because of the pub’s price point and the offering. You can still enjoy a meal in the pub that is good quality and a good experience.”
Mr Gantner said owning the Bermagui Beach Hotel had been an amazing journey with plenty of highs and lows.
“We have full confidence that Epochal Hotels will continue the custodianship of this iconic venue and love it as much as we have,” he said. “With a new owner comes new ideas, new energy and new opportunities for staff and the hotel.”
