Knickerbocker Hotel owner Scott Macallister is moving on

After taking over the local pub on October 27, 2003, Mr Macallister will be handing over the keys next Wednesday, November 24 and is looking forward to embarking on new adventures.

Though he has loved his time at the Knickerbocker he said he doesn't think he'll miss it.

"It's been a hard struggle some days but I've loved every minute of it," Mr Macallister said.

"If I'd been here four or five years I might think 'I'd like to give that a go again', but after 18 years I've given it a good crack. I'm 61 years old, I'm done."

The Knickerbocker was on the market about three years ago but didn't sell due to the offers and the timing not being right.

This time around everything fell into place.

The timing was right, the offer was too good to refuse and it suited both Mr Macallister and his business partner.

Now Mr Macallister can focus on putting family first, with plans to move back to Penrith where he grew up.

"I've got a sister who has two daughters and they've got kids,and because of my lifestyle I haven't been an uncle so I'm going back and that's one of my main priorities and reasons for going back, to be an uncle," he said.

Before Mr Macallister owned the Knickerbocker he travelled around overseas experiencing what the world had to offer.

He worked as a tour leader for an English company for around seven years, he worked in a pub in England and then when to America and worked as a bartender at Daytona Beach in Florida for seven years.

After moving back to Australia, Mr Macallister embarked on a joint venture with a friend of his which led to the ownership of the Knickerbocker Hotel.

Over the better part of two decades he has seen a number of changes in the industry with the most prominent being the banning of smoking indoors and the addition of poker machines.

"I think the biggest change I've seen, and there's been many, is not smoking in pubs ... you could smoke anywhere in the hotel when we took over," Mr Macallister said.

"They decided they'd cut it down to certain areas, then cut it down to less areas and now there's no smoking inside a hotel at all. That really changed what pubs do and the clientele even."

With a local resident taking over ownership of the Knickerbocker, Mr Macallister expects that it will remain a genuine local hotel.

He wishes the new owners all the best on their new venture as he heads off on his.

"I've really enjoyed Bathurst and really enjoyed every customer that's come through the door," he said.

"It's been an eye-opener, it's been a real experience and I've loved every moment of it."

Mr Macallister is currently listed as number five on fellow publican Robert [Stumpy] Taylor's ticket for council.

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