East Gippsland: Wy Yung Pub near Bairnsdale on the market

After eight years in charge, Antony Hilf and Jacqui Allen have decided to sell a well-known East Gippsland pub.

A couple who first worked together in a hotel in Port Hedland have called time on an eight-year stint at one of East Gippsland’s best known pubs.

Frenchman Antony Hilf was on a back-packing holiday in Australia in the early 2010s when he met Jacqui Allen from Lakes Entrance.

After briefly moving onto another pub in Western Australia, they spotted the Wy Yung Pub business for sale and took over in 2015.

The “party pub” for generations of East Gippslanders was listed for sale last week.

The Wy Yung Pub near Bairnsdale opened in 1873. The original pub burnt down 20 years later before re-opening in 1895. Picture: Supplied.

The thought of running and eventually owning his own pub aged only in his 20s at no stage crossed the Parisian’s mind.

“We’ve had a great time, but it’s obviously been marred by bushfires and then Covid,” Mr Hilf said.

The 2019-20 Black Summer fires burnt within a couple kilometres of the hotel and only a few months later the pandemic started.

“There are a lot of mixed emotions,” he said.

“There is the frustration of what has happened in the last three years.

“But once it is all said and done it has been a once in a lifetime thing, owning a pub, growing it and having the support of your community.”

Undercover beer garden is a recent addition to the Wy Yung Pub. Picture: Supplied

A highlight was a John Butler Trio and Pete Murray concert in 2018 that attracted 3500 people.

“We had travelled a fair bit and seen what other places had been doing,” he said.

“Entertainment has always been a feature of the Wy Yung Pub.

“It’s always been the party pub so we just had to keep it going.

“All the money we’ve made, we’ve re-invested to improve the building.

“Bit by bit we’ve turned it into what it is today.”

The Wy Yung Pub near Bairnsdale has been listed for sale. Picture supplied.

Among the recent improvements to the pub that first opened in 1873 have been an enlarged function and bistro, undercover beer garden and veranda area.

The original pub was destroyed by fire in 1893 before re-opening two years later.

Expressions of interest to buy the pub close on April 6 with Bairnsdale’s King & Heath First National handling the sale.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to purchase an iconic hotel in a booming regional area,” agent Matt Baylis.