Western Australian pub group Locals – which owns Subiaco Hotel in Perth; the Rose Hotel in Bunbury; and the Exchange Hotel in Kalgoorlie – is in the middle of constructing their first greenfields pub, the Treendale Farm Hotel.
Situated in the growing suburb of Australind in Bunbury, the pub is set to be one of the state’s largest suburban hotels, with a footprint covering 10,000 sqm. In a new residential precinct dominated by young families, the hotel offering will tailor to young and old. Not only will it include a traditional front bar and TAB, it will also include a family restaurant, three separate outdoor terraced dining areas, three dedicated children’s play areas and landscaped lawns and gardens.
The main restaurant adjoins an indoor children’s movie and play hub which opens out to two large outdoor alfresco dining areas, children’s play area and a unique adventure playground. This dedicated kids experience features a custom-made interactive 7m high windmill and water tank with connecting bridge and slides, along with a historic wooden boat, all paying homage to the farming and maritime history of the Treendale-Leschenault region.
“The pub is an important part of local life and with a higher than average number of young families in the area, Treendale offered a great opportunity to build something a bit different to the standard suburban tavern,” stated Locals co-director Dave Allan.
“We wanted to ensure the hotel had something for everyone and could be embraced by the people in the community as their ‘local’, as well as becoming a destination for people who are visiting the south-west.”
The sprawling hotel offering will also include a extensive Liquor Superstore covering 800 sqm and featuring dual lane, ‘truck-sized’ drive-through capacity.
The hotel has long been in the works, with Locals being in contact with the developers of the area since 2014, and officially coming on board for the greenfields pub in 2018, as more infrastructure projects were confirmed for the area. With the plans for the hotel in the works for two years now, Locals co-director Lawson Douglas said that while the design of the hotel has not been amended since the coronavirus pandemic began, the large-format nature of the hotel naturally lends itself to changes in patron behavior.
“The sheer size and layout of the venue lends itself towards giving customers every option to social distance. A few months into the COVID shutdown we were even more thankful that we had designed a venue with such space. We felt even more confident that when we opened, customers would be seeking that venue where they can separate from other groups, and the Treendale Farm Hotel will allow for that.”
The Treendale Farm Hotel is expected to create roughly 60 new jobs in the local area, and is expected to open in November. You can check out a video of its progress below.
Image: (l-r) Treendale Farm Hotel co-owner Lawson Douglas, venue manager Addy Ribeiro and co-owner Dave Allan on site.