THERE'S a new face behind the bar at The 1880 Tavern, and though his presence at the pub is new, he's certainly not unfamiliar to the industry.
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Robert "Stumpy" Taylor is the new manager of the premises, after being called in by the owner to transform the pub late last year.
With his experience as the publican of The Dudley Hotel, which was formerly "Stumpy's on Stewart", Mr Taylor was the perfect man for the job.
The previous management team were planning to make significant changes to the tavern, but Mr Taylor said the pub will be going in a different direction.
"We're just going to take it back to a traditional hotel ... with good food, good entertainment, and then we will worry about if we do anything further," he said.
The previous TAB area was set to be transformed into a ladies' lounging area, a proposal was made for a children's playground to be installed at the back of the premises, and a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop was built.
Now, the coffee shop has closed, and the area will be used as a cocktail lounge. The TAB area is set to be restored and there is potential for growth at the back of the pub.
"The owner, Greg [Brimble] would like to put an outside deck area, and a small dining and entertainment area out there," Mr Taylor said.
"It's not that big of an area to put children's play equipment in out there, there's a massive tree, but we'll put some decking around it and some seating and whatever down the track."
In the tradition of a classic bar venue, there will also be live music, or a DJ performing on Friday and Saturday nights as entertainment for the masses.
And, thanks to the addition of a new chef, a new menu will be released in the coming weeks, featuring all the pub staples, with a few additions.
Mr Taylor said that there are also plans to transform the alley, adjacent to the building, into a main entryway.
Previously, this area was used as the designated smoking location, but Mr Taylor hopes that eventually tables, chairs and stools will be added, to act as another area for potential diners.
But, according to Mr Taylor, everything is just a work in progress, and the main goal for the pub at the moment is to develop a regular client base.
"We will put things in place so we can get a regular clientele," he said.
"We hope to get it back to when it was really popular for the younger generations and we've got a couple of ideas for older clientele, where we can put some things on."
