With 12 years under his belt at The Oxford, Mr Lyons yesterday said he had been the longest-serving licensee in the pub’s 150-year history.

He said that job was difficult enough, but he was also the general manager of a company that runs several businesses in Bathurst and Orange. 

Mr Lyons also owns the Venue Café, the Edinboro Hotel, and Piper Catering Events and Logistics in Bathurst, and Venue Café Bar and the YoYoBa in Orange. He is not selling any of these businesses. 

Mr Lyons said he came to Bathurst from Sydney with a five-year plan. At the time he had never been further west than the Blue Mountains.

“I fell in love with the town and I fell in love with the people and that’s what has kept me here,” he said.

“I could live anywhere, but I love living here.”

Mr Lyons said he would continue to run his company from Bathurst.

He said this was not a decision that he had made lightly, but living in the country had taught him about priorities – what is important and what’s not. 

He added that it is only recently that he started taking Sundays off, and was surprised to find such joy in it. However, he admits doing nothing was a skill he had to learn.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 21 and it has cost me a lot,” he said. “My priorities are different now.

“My daughters are highly competitive in sport and I am doing this so I can become more involved and become a better father.

“To do that I need to free up more time.

“We were put on this planet to have a full life and I have had a very full life.

“Now I would like to have more input into the lives of my children.”

So The Oxford, which he calls a showcase venue, is now on the market. 

Mr Lyons said it was a very specialised hotel featuring five separate venues in one, including bars, a quality restaurant, a nightclub and a cocktail bar.

For that reason it’s not for every buyer, but he is confident that whoever does take it over will have a wonderful business.

Mr Lyons said he had a great management team and staff who would hopefully stay on at the hotel.

He said Bathurst had changed considerably in the past 12 years, adding he built The Oxford for a market he knew would come. 

Mr Lyons said that market was now much more refined, as the standard of food and beverages lifts.

“The hardest thing about leaving it is not leaving the building I have built and created, but the fact I will no longer be working on a daily basis with people I have worked with for a very long time,” he said. “It has been a very emotional time for us, but I have learned that it is the very simple things that put a smile on your face. I am at peace with my decision.”