TOM HAYES
By TOM HAYES
CROWN Hotel, Traralgon has had a night out at the Australian Hotel Association (AHA) 2023 State Awards for Excellence. At the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, around 1200 people gathered for the awards night which would see a number of awards handed out. The AHA approached the Crown Hotel and recommended that they nominate for the Best Regional Pub Bar. “Once you nominate, two mystery shops happen … and they judge you, they judge the presentation of the bar, variety of drinks, the service, placing of the bar,” managing shareholder Brett Melbourne said. “And from there, best score wins.” When they heard their name called out, their table erupted into cheers and screams. That wasn’t the only thing that the Crown Hotel group took from the night, as their ‘parma’ was recognised within the top 10 in Victoria. “The unique thing about the parma is we took the punt doing smoked pork instead of ham, which is a bit of a gamble on a parma,” Mr Melbourne said. Locally, the Crown Hotel are known for the size of their parma, and how tricky it is to finish it. “And it’s funny, we thought about reducing it but it creates conversation … that’s why we’ve just kept it,” Mr Melbourne explained. The recognition was welcomed by the group, as the pub has only been open for around 12 months, proving how quickly things have grown. “It’s been a pretty big renovation … but worth it,” Mr Melbourne said. Before the Crown Hotel landed in Traralgon, the old site was originally an older pub that was then out-popularised by growing bars and pubs in the area, so the updated sports pub has only added to the Traralgon night life. “So Brett Nielson, he bought the building back in 2021, and spent 12 months renovating and reopened in March 2022,” Mr Melbourne explained. Mr Melbourne spoke on the lack of sports bars in the area and how it helped with the Crown Hotel’s popularity. “Traralgon needed one (sports bar), Traralgon needed something like this,” he said. “We knew, especially with the tank beer, that it would take off.” The Crown Hotel invested in tank beer, which is unpasteurised unlike normal beer, which goes through a heat exchange program before being stored in barrels, preserving it for longer. “This tank beer doesn’t go through the heat program, or doesn’t have any gas,” Mr Melbourne said. “We’ve only got 14 days to get rid of it … we’ve never thrown any out yet! “I’d rather run out before I throw it out.” The Crown Hotel is in the process of adding a function room upstairs, which will include a bar and kitchen, and an elevator upstairs, with hopefully enough room to hold 100-200 people. They plan to commence renovations upstairs and hope to start around late-July, early-August, with the doors set to open in October. Crown Hotel is excited to see what the next 12 months can bring, with plenty of additions to be made over that time. The Crown Hotel is open from 11am every day, closing at 10pm on Sunday to Wednesday, 11pm on Thursdays, 12am on Fridays (Saturday morning) and 1am on Saturdays (Sunday morning).
Photograph Tom Hayes
