Corryong: Cheryl Winter takes over Courthouse Hotel

A high country hotel has had its doors shut since late last year, but is back in business. See who has taken over the town’s “top pub”.

Cheryl Winter has taken on her second and possibly biggest pub challenge in the Upper Murray with the revival of Corryong’s 140-year-old Courthouse Hotel.

The high country town’s top pub has been shut since late December last year following the revelation the hotel’s previous lessee, Bradley Tyrell, was fighting alleged fraud charges.

Ms Winter has had the lease of the nearby Victoria Hotel at Tallangatta for the past nine years following an equally long stint working at the Newmarket Hotel in Albury.

She is originally from Balranald and has worked in hospitality for most of her life with stints in Swan Hill, Wollongong and her hometown pub, The Shamrock.

“I found early on it is what I loved,” she said.

“I worked in a drive through bottle shop, I did motel reception, I was a kitchen hand, I’ve done functions, because I knew one day all I wanted was my own little country pub.”

Cheryl Winter at Corryong's Courthouse Hotel. Picture: Corryong Courier

Ms Winter is already well known in the Corryong area.

The Tallangatta pub she ran has been a sponsor of the Corryong Football-Netball Club with that connection helping to overcome one of her potential major hurdles, staff.

Chef Steve Bain also worked for Ms Winter at Tallangatta and has followed her to Corryong.

“Because I’ve been only an hour away, a lot of the young people in Corryong know who I am,” Ms Winter said.

“I was actually blown away because I thought I’m going to have my work cut out here getting staff.

“But we haven’t struggled with staff at all.”

Ms Winter’s partner Rod Chater is an audio engineer and live music is part of their plans for the Courthouse Hotel.

“It’s like all roads led to Corryong and we didn’t know,” she said.

“We looked past the filth and thought to ourselves we can do something with this place.

“I don’t like when people go into little country pubs and try and turn them into a city pub.

“I like to keep things fairly natural.”