The Centennial Hotel you know is here to stay say new owners

Which is why it is understandable that there was some hesitation among the Gulgong community when it was announced that the historic local pub had been sold to new owners.

Deb O'Brien, along with her brother Glen officially purchased the hotel on February 12 and work began almost immediately to renovate small parts of the hotel's kitchen and accomodation, leaving some regulars befuddled and wondering what might happen to their beloved local.

When Deb O'Brien spoke with the Mudgee Guardian, she said that the Gulgong community is the most important aspect of running a hotel - especially one with a dedicated clientele - like the Centennial.

Not originally from Gulgong, Deb said she has synergy with the region, running a management business that has involvement at the miner's accommodation, Ulan Village Green, and saw the Centennial as a place with a lot of potential for investment in the Gulgong community.

"This is sort of an area that I always look for investments in. It came up and it just fitted really well in a future direction that I would like to go with hospitality, so that's what really attracted me to it," she said.

"I really like the history of the town. I like the history of the hotel. I felt like it has amazing bones. And, you know - in those bones - when you say amazing bones, not only just the pub, but also the community."

Not long after word got out that the Centennial had been sold, the rumour mill kicked into overdrive. Speculation ranged from the reasonable to the absurd, leading Deb to post on social media to clear up many of the misconceptions.

"We've taken over the pub, and we are really committed to the community, so no big changes here," she said.

"I totally understand that there were some concerns with someone that they didn't know coming into the town. Everyone wanted some reassurance that we weren't going to change the name.

"We just want to reassure people that we're not reinventing the wheel here. It's just going to be, hopefully, our mark on a family business. We're really focused on families. We want to concentrate on the food, getting the food really right."

Deb said the renovation work being done is in service of making the interior space more comfortable for patrons. "It's nothing too big, just making the kitchen work a little bit better and also extension of the pokies room - making that a better space with a bit more ventilation," she said.

Additionally, the rooms situated above are also seeing a makeover with air-conditioning, new carpets and beds among the improvements.

The O'Brien pub group is a brother and sister operation, which Deb said makes for an interesting dynamic with her brother Glen.

"It's fabulous. So we come from a long history of family members working with each other and being involved with each other in business. We all have really good relationships, really firm boundaries," she joked.

"But what we do is, what we're all really good at is offering different things to a partnership where we have strengths and then we have weaknesses."

Deb reiterated that most material changes to the pub will be minimal. Among them are putting Guiness back on tap and hopefully introducing the best crumbed lamb cutlets at any pub in Australia.

"It is a big goal, but that's where we're hoping to get. So I would say if anyone's reading this, come in and tell us what you think," she said.

The pub is set to reopen on Monday, February 26, and the kitchen will be reopened on Monday, March 4.