Newspaper Article 1994 – Tavern revamp starts Monday

Tavern revamp starts Monday

Work starts on Monday on a $500,000 revamp of the Lion Tavern, Hastings, which will see a Cobb and Co restaurant and an upmarket bar added.

The revamp is the brainchild of developer Neville Gorrie, who shifted from the Hutt Valley to Hastings to develop what he regards as the strong potential of the central-city site.

Mr Gorrie has retained his hotel and other business interests in the Hutt, but has shifted to Hastings to live permanently to set up and run the revamped tavern.

He will oversee the building renovation, with the main building contract being awarded to Hastings builder Dick Woodham.

The Cobb and Co restaurant, part of a nationwide franchise, will be where the present front bar of the hotel is. It will also take in the present entranceway and stairs.

One of the three shops on the western side of the building will be included in the tavern, becoming the new bar.

The present bottle store will be turned into a small lounge bar. The sportsman’s bar at the back will remain. These parts of the tavern will be run by the present licensee, Chris Hill, while Mr Gorrie will run the front bar and restaurant.

Mr Gorrie plans to have the renovations completed by November and expects to employ an extra 20 staff.

A revamp of the upstairs part of the tavern, possibly into a nightclub, is envisaged as a second stage.

“Downstairs is my priority at the moment and when I’ve got that the way I want it, I’ll look at the next step.

“The site certainly has a lot of potential and that is what attracted me to Hastings,” Mr Gorrie said.

Photo captions –

Developer Mr Gorrie

An architect’s drawing showing how the Lion Tavern will look after its redevelopment is finished in November.