Colbinabbin Country Hotel for sale after becoming community hub
In the country, the pub is often the lifeblood of the community — just ask those at Colbinabbin.
This small town about 175km north of Melbourne is not only home to about 300 people but a historic watering hole that has served generations of locals and travellers for nearly a century.
And now the Colbinabbin Country Hotel — built in 1926 — awaits its newest chapter.
After nine years of ownership, Mary Ann Morgan and Barry Dawson — who run the pub with joint business owner Julie Price — have listed the venue for sale, setting it aside for the next generation.
Ms Price said going into the pub business was supposed to be a 'five-year plan' but Covid extended the arrangement.
Ms Morgan said when the hotel was for sale she decided she couldn't let the 'gorgeous, old, red brick building crumble'.
She said it had been a focal part of her social life as a teenager and in her 20s so she loved watching it transform into what it is now.
Both Ms Morgan and Ms Price grew up in Colbinabbin, but now in their 60s, decided it was the time to sell.
'I love what I am doing but I need to slow down a little bit, you miss out on a lot socially and with family,' Ms Price said.
In the last decade the pub has undergone major renovations, including the addition of a terrace.
Ms Morgan said with all the renovations it was a great time for young people to take it on.
'It needs young people with enthusiasm to grab this opportunity,' she said.
The hotel, located on Mitchell St, is a short walk from the town's silo art which pays homage to the region's agricultural roots, the CFA and the Colbinabbin Picnic — an annual event which ran for 60 years throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ms Price said the silo art changed everything in the town.
'We open at 10am every morning and go all day, seven days,' she said.
'It's only a small town and the locals can't all come to the pub every day, so we rely on silo visitors during the day.
'Then there's always a birthday or community group.
'We're going gangbusters at the moment, especially for the middle of winter.
'We have scrabble here twice a month in the morning, pub choir on a Tuesday and some days we sell more coffee than we do beer.'
Ms Morgan said the pub wasn't about drinking alcohol but about bringing people together.
'It's very community orientated and people are comfortable being there,' she said.
'It's a destination hotel – they come from everywhere.'
Ms Price said seeing the business grow had been phenomenal.
'The number of people who come up and say g'day blows you away because you think people just come for dinner or a drink but its warm and welcoming and people appreciate that,' she said.
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