Joe and Krystle Wright to reopen the Kabra Pub doors

After being closed for more than a year a popular Central Queensland pub will open its doors to the community again.

Joe and Krystle Wright will be opening the Kabra Pub after it closed in December 2021.

After being closed for more than a year a popular country pub will reopen its doors in the coming weeks.

Joe and Krystle Wright have taken the reins at the Kabra Pub, and are hard at work getting things ready to welcome locals and visitors back to the watering hole.

The pair have about 35 years of hospitality experience between them, working in the industry around Central Queensland for many years.

“The opportunity came along and we’ve heard great things about the Kabra Pub...we just wanted to give the locals a place to go and a place to call our own and come back to a bit of country life,” Mrs Wright said.

Joe and Krystle Wright will be opening the Kabra Pub after it closed in December 2021.

“The reaction from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, we haven’t really put too much out there we just let everyone know it was reopening and we were looking for staff.

“We’re really excited for it (the opening) and for them (patrons) to come along.”

Mrs Wright said pubs were important to small country communities, providing a place for locals to come together.

“They’re a place for people to meet up without having to go into town,” she said.

“It’s very important for them.”

Joe and Krystle Wright will be opening the Kabra Pub after it closed in December 2021.

While the reopening of the pub will bring the community together again, it will also create up to 15 jobs for locals.

“We’ve already taken on Raymond Shepherd who worked here a long time ago and is loved by everyone,” she said.

“We’ve also taken on a couple of locals we’ve interviewed so far and we hope there will be more to come, if there is a need we will definitely be hiring more.”

While there was a lot of work being done behind the scenes to get the pub in tip-top shape for opening, Mrs Wright said she and her family were excited for the doors to open.

But while it might look like a lot of work is happening inside, the pub will still have the look locals are familiar with.

The Kabra Pub.

“It’s been shut for a while so we’re doing the electrical safety checks and plumbing works...it’s nothing dramatic in terms of renovations, but things that get affected after they haven’t been turned on,” Mrs Wright said.

“The old owner had done a wonderful job in what she already achieved and the fact that she did what she did will allow us to build on that.

“We’ve kept all the decor, someone personally made the windmill clock and donated it and the old war board that was commissioned...we’re not interested in changing anything like that we want to keep the feel, character and history of it.

“We’re a family, we have our daughter as well who is excited to be able to come out here, we’ll be a family orientated pub.”

The Kabra Pub isn’t the only venue that will be reopening its doors to breathe life back into the community.

In the coming months the Dululu Hotel will reopen its doors after being closed for about eight years.

The old pub is undergoing a total renovation with a new white exterior, coffee shop, bar, outdoor dining area and kids playground planned for the establishment.

Dululu Hotel owner Nicole Newman. Picture: Aden Stokes

There are also plans for eight accommodation rooms.

Works are also underway on the Lakes Creek Hotel, Rockhampton’s second oldest pub next to the Criterion.

Josh Dillon and Sally Knight took over the ownership of the Lakes Creek Hotel in September 2021 and have been working on getting the “rundown” building back up and running.

The last major works on the Lakes Creek Hotel were done in 1992, when the outdoor area and bottle shop were built.

Sally Knight and Josh Dillon are the new owners of the Lakes Creek Hotel.

The first hotel on the site at 431 Lakes Creek Rd was built in 1871 and it burnt down in 1880.

According to the heritage building listing, the Lakes Creek Hotel was constructed in 1895 and was the third hotel on the site.

The existing hotel was constructed by builder T Moir and designed by prominent Rockhampton architect firm Eaton and Bates.