A NEW era began at Millthorpe's Railway Hotel on Monday as the Cochrane family officially took ownership of the famous "bottom pub".
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The family secured the property in an off-market purchase following lengthy negotiations.
The Railway hosted a final celebration on Saturday night to farewell previous owner David Mutton before the Cochranes took over, with both parties preferring not to disclose the value of the purchase.
Historical records show the property, set on a block of approximately 1350 square metres, was last sold in August of 2014 for nearly $750,000.
Ben Cochrane confirmed the purchase was finalised after negotiations began earlier this year and said it comes as a result of growing interest in the Millthorpe area.
The Cochranes also own Orange's Parkview Hotel, while Ben is also the founder and owner of Orange's Parrot Distilling Co.
"Mum's [Narelle] actually from Millthorpe, so it definitely is a bit of a homecoming," he said.
"We love the town, we always have, so we'd earmarked it as a place we'd like to get involved in because it's a growing area.
"We think we can really bring something that will complement Millthorpe."
Mr Cochrane said plans for some renovations and upgrades are in the works at the Railway Hotel, which started life as the Family Hotel in 1898.
"We'll look to do some refurbishments as time goes on, extending the dining space and making a few upgrades," he said.
"We're looking at potentially putting in a children's playground too, to take advantage of such a family friendly space."
Millthorpe is a booming tourist destination, but Mr Cochrane said the pub's regulars need not worry.
"In the day-to-day, it'll be all about the locals," he said.
"We'll bring in a few things like memberships, clubs and that sort of thing as well, to look after them."
The Railway Hotel is open for business, although the kitchen has been closed and is expected to reopen on Friday, boasting a similar - albeit limited, initially - menu to that of the Parkview Hotel.