Coast to Coast Homes director Sean Craven ‘ignoring’ request to stop drinking at Port Hughes Tavern

Coast to Coast Homes’ Sean Craven — who owes tradies millions of dollars — has been told to stop dropping by his local for a drink, because people are “getting grumpy”. He’s not listening.

Port Hughes Tavern owner Justin Zwar, whose plumbing company Peninsula Plumbing lost money in the collapse of Coast to Coast Homes. Picture: Tait Schmaal

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Bad blood towards a builder who owes tradies millions of dollars has spilt over into a local pub, which is facing pressure to ban the businessman from the venue.

Port Hughes Tavern owner Justin Zwar said tradies, stung by the multimillion-dollar collapse of Moonta builder Coast to Coast Homes, are angry that the firm’s ex-director Sean Craven is frequenting their popular watering hole.

Mr Zwar, whose separate plumbing company lost a “significant” amount of money in Coast to Coast’s liquidation, said Mr Craven had ignored a request from his bar manager this week to no longer visit the pub.

“He (Mr Craven) didn’t take that very well,” he said. “He told my bar manager, it’s a public place and he will continue to do what he wants.

“It’s becoming a problem, people up here are starting get grumpier. I’ve had a couple (of tradies) threatening they will do something to him.”

He said Mr Craven, who lives in Port Hughes, was drinking at the pub most afternoons and that tradies had refused to visit when he was on the premises.

“It’s becoming quite an issue (for business),” Mr Zwar said, adding he had no legal right to refuse service to Mr Craven.

Coast to Coast Homes general manager Steven Craven.

Mr Craven had owned the pub for 15 years and sold it to Mr Zwar in 2017.

He said that Mr Craven had shown no remorse for the failure of his building business, which a creditors’ meeting heard this month owed at least $5 million to hundreds of suppliers and subcontractors.

Liquidators advised the June 18 meeting that they would undertake a “detailed review” of payments to determine if any funds were misappropriated.

Coast to Coast Homes started in Moonta and was one of three major builders in the Yorke Peninsula region. It had 98 contracts on its books when it closed.

An associated company Regency Custom Cabinets, owned by Mr Craven and his son Steven, also closed its doors costing six staff their jobs.

Steven Craven, who managed Coast to Coast Homes Adelaide operations, has moved out of a rental property at Largs Bay.

Former employees have told The Advertiser that he and his family were moving to Queensland and that Mr Craven had a job interview in Brisbane this week.

Andrew Maros of MGS Auctions, who ran a fire sale of Regency Custom Cabinet assets, said Mr Craven had told him he was going to Brisbane for an interview but that it was for a job in Adelaide.

The Advertiser has sought comment from Sean and Steven Craven.