Healesville Hotel: Orrong Hotel publicans Matt Vero and Scott Connolly buy Yarra Valley icon
The new owners of a “treasured and historic” Healesville pub plan to give the popular watering hole a new lease on life.
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The new owners of a historic Healesville pub plan to give the treasured “icon” a new lease on life.
The much-loved Healesville Hotel will reopen its doors this winter under new ownership with a fresh look and food offering.
The duo behind Armadale’s Orrong Hotel, publicans Matt Vero and Scott Connolly, have purchased the pub and are excited to take over the venue, which has operated for more than 130 years.
“Matt and I have had a long history with the Yarra Valley and Healesville in particular,” Mr Connolly said.
“We’ve always loved the pub and when the opportunity arose to become its new custodians we jumped at the chance.
“We love the Yarra Valley, we love Healesville, and we’re so excited to be part of it.
“We love an icon.”
Mr Connolly said the duo planned to refresh the pub and give it more of a younger, vibrant feel, while retaining its original charm.
“What we do best is community and locals so we really want to open that public bar to bring back that culture of having locals in on a Wednesday night, where you can walk in on your own and you know five people in there to have a drink with.
“For us it’s all about community; that’s what we’ve done at the Orrong and we plan to do the same at Healesville.”
Consisting of a public bar, bistro and a large beer garden, the reinvigorated Healesville Hotel will offer traditional pub fare alongside a seasonal menu that champions fresh Yarra Valley
produce, with a new chef coming on board.
The pub will close for a short time to make way for the refurbishment before a grand reopening, planned for the end of June.
“We always want to accentuate what is already there; we love pubs and the history of pubs,” Mr Connolly said.
“Pubs are just so beautiful in their own uniqueness so we absolutely love (the Healesville Hotel already); we’ll just be accentuating what is already there and keeping it very true to its roots.”
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