A Hobart hospitality veteran is pouring everything he’s got into transforming an iconic run-down Davey Street venue into a European beer hall, even if it sends him broke.
Chris Cooper is opening Bierhalle at 124 Davey Street.
The building has a long history in Hobart hospitality previously operating as The Chowk, Hotel SoHo and the Aberfeldy.
Cooper is promising schnitzels, sauerkraut, pork knuckle and a mix of local and European beers on tap.
Cooper, who also owns Preachers in Battery Point, Boodle Beasley in North Hobart and Mayfair in Sandy Bay, said he was inspired to take on the project after driving past the neglected building every day from his home in Blackmans Bay.
“I drove past every day and I was like, ‘Wow, like, someone needs to do something’,” he told Pulse.
“It’s such a cool building.”
“I’m an old man now and and I probably should have just stopped and chilled, but it’s just one of those things …my wife’s probably gonna divorce me … she’s quite stressed.”
“I’ll do all this stuff and open it up and maybe no one will come, but you know…”
He said the site needed a drawcard because it wasn’t in one of the established hospitality zones like Battery Point or North Hobart.
The renovation has been far bigger than expected, with Cooper having to rip up floors, put in new footings and replace all the equipment.
“The budget’s just blown out completely,” he said.
“Hopefully we get a bunch of people in and they drink some beer and I can, as my mum would say, trade my way out of the debt I’ve got myself into,” he said.
Cooper said tradespeople and locals had been sharing stories about the venue throughout the renovation.
“I think everybody in Hobart has actually been in that pub,” he said.
“The Aberfeldy’s a bit of an institution.”
“Everyone has had a story to tell about the Aberfeldy, or if they’re under 35, Soho.”
He has brought on Michael Flowers, who he described as a “hospo legend” in Hobart, as venue manager.
“It’s really important to get people like that, that can create,” Cooper said.
“Money doesn’t make a pub. It’s the people that make a pub.”
Half the taps will pour Tasmanian beers, with Bicheno’s Bich Brewery making a pilsner for the venue and they will feature European drops including Paulaner, Leffe, Kronenbourg and Schöfferhofer with the lineup changing regularly.
Despite the financial pressure, he said he is keeping things in perspective.
“You only live once, man,” he said.
“If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. As long as everyone’s happy and healthy, who cares?”
The venue is still looking for more staff ahead of its late May opening.
