Orange-based siblings Greg and Campbell Hedley have taken the plunge, and will bring their passion for home-brewing when they open a restaurant and bar in the historic building.

The new outlet will feature in ongoing developments within the mill, which currently houses a cafe, antique shop and numerous companies occupying the upper levels. A nightclub has even been slated for the underground area beneath the mill.

For the Hedley brothers, their venture is an opportunity to combine a strong interest with business.

“We both have a love of beer for starters,” Greg Hedley joked. “My brother and I were both living overseas for a while, he was in Hong Kong and I was in North America, and we decided to come back home at around the same time and wanted to do something together, something a little bit different.

“The craft beer industry in America is big, and still growing, so that sparked my interest a bit. We’ve both got some experience in home brewing, but nothing on this sort of scale.”

Patrons at the restaurant and bar will have a choice of at least five beers, and Mr Hedley said the venue would work to support local producers and even help out fellow brewers from around the region.

“We’ll be serving food on site, people will actually be able to see the brewing tanks, and everything we serve on site, food-wise, will be from the local area,” he said.

“Obviously with the beer itself it gets a bit harder because the ingredients have to be sourced from elsewhere. 

“We’ve noticed that people want to support local industry and to us this whole idea is almost like taking a step back in time.

“We will be putting other brewers’ beers on a rotating tap as well, with local wines and some of the local spirits, too.”

The Hedleys will have some assistance from Bruce Peachey, a former head brewer with Bluetongue, who will assist as brewing consultant.

“This isn’t a place that is going to focus on late-night trading or anything like that, but the sort of venue where you can go for a meal and a couple of drinks and relax,” Mr Hedley said.

Campbell said he would love to see their beers served up across the Central West.

“I don’t feel the need to get into the Sydney market, I’d much rather get into the greater west. I’d love Two Heads to be the beer that you reach for when you want something different in Parkes or Forbes or Dubbo or wherever,” he said. “We have to make sure it’s something that Bathurst wants to drink.

“We’ll do some seasonals alongside that as well. We’re also keen to have a rotating guest tap. There’s a bunch of breweries popping up out that way, a lot of them don’t have a venue to sell their beers in, so we’re pretty keen to provide that community support.”