Publican Lukas Thodas is methodically ticking off one item after another on his "to do" list at The Grand Hotel in Newcastle.
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Phase one was renovating and launching The Underground. Phase two was redefining the hotel's back bar and gaming area into a dining and function space called Henry's Parlour. Phase three? A new and improved public bar.
Thodas purchased the hotel in October 2021 with co-owners and brothers John and Phil Elsley and a syndicate of Newcastle-based family members.
He started his career in hospitality working at the Exchange Hotel in Hamilton at the age of 18 before taking over as licensee of the CBD Hotel and then a general manager position at The Junction Hotel, where he stayed for the next five years.
This was followed by a two-year stint at The Premier Hotel in Broadmeadow and three years as general manager at The Lucky Hotel in Newcastle.
"John and I had been looking for a pub to buy since before COVID. The Grand was the one we really wanted as it had the combination of bar and pub plus accommodation," he tells Weekender.
"After buying it we traded the pub as it was through the Christmas period. We started The Underground renovation in mid-January 2022 and also gave the pub floor a little freshen up."
Change happened quickly, guided by a shared vision.
"This vision is for a traditional English-style pub with unique and strong food and a great beverage offering ... To provide a space where people can catch up with friends in a traditional pub space without all the big televisions, TAB, Keno and gaming," he says.
"Most pubs have lost their soul and atmosphere these days, they feel too modern and sterile."
The Underground area, which can be accessed via a lane way off Bolton Street or through the hotel itself, opened last year in June.
"We stripped the room back to its original brick walls and dressed it up quite eclectically," Thodas says.
"We wanted to create a space where people feel like they aren't in Newcastle any more. The room is dark but elegant and has heaps of atmosphere.
"There are not many spaces in the city that are open past midnight to catch up socially, so it's quite unique."
The decision to remove gaming machines from the hotel was practical as well as ideological.
"Phil and John have a few other venues [including Good Folk, Bartholomew's, The Whistler, The Blind Monk, The Family Hotel in Maitland] and their business model is all about food and beverage," Thodas explains.
"We decided that getting rid of the machines was the best way to go because they were taking up prime real estate in the hotel which we wanted to turn into a new dining/function space (Henry's Parlour).
"The local community really got behind us on that decision."
The hotel's food and drink offering has also changed with its ownership. The current winter menu is "a blend of hearty English pub classics and gastro-pub food" and The Underground's manager Max Kelly oversees a "very extensive" wine list and a "large cocktail list and huge whiskey and gin collection".
On Mondays diners are welcome to try Henry's Supper Club at Henry's Parlour - a $55 three-course mystery dinner plus a house wine or beer. Go to thegrandnewcastle.com.au to check out weekly specials and live music events.
The new-look public bar is expected to be completed by October.
"Next year we will look to renovate a few of the older rooms upstairs," Thodas says.
"We have 17 en-suite accommodation rooms, some modern and some older."
As much as The Grand has changed over the past year, much remains the same: the focus on jazz nights, for example.
"Jazz had been going on in The Underground for more than 10 years so we wanted to keep that going as it fitted in perfectly with the atmosphere," Thodas says.
"After great success on Tuesdays, we bought in The Jazz Jam on Thursday nights. Artists can come in and jam with the house band (a lot of students come with their parents) and it gives young people the opportunity to play in front of a live audience in a cool space.
"Both nights are run seamlessly by NIMA (Newcastle Improvised Music Association)."
The Grand Hotel is open 7 days, 10am until late. The kitchen is open 11.30am-3pm and 5pm-9pm Monday to Thursday, and 11.30am-9pm Friday to Sunday. The Underground and Henry's Parlour can be booked for private events.
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