Opening in 2021, The 1880 Hotel garnered significant popularity in the Bathurst community, but according to Mr Taylor, unfortunately in recent years, this popularity has dwindled.

So, with his ample experience as a publican, having been the owner of The Dudley Hotel, which was formerly "Stumpy's on Stewart", Mr Taylor came in with a plan to revitalise the tavern.

This has included taking things back to basics.

The venue has returned to the format of a more traditional tavern, serving pub classics on the menu, quality beverages from the bar, and hiring live entertainment for Friday and Saturday nights.

And it's all with the hopes to redevelop a regular clientele.

"Once you lose trade, it takes a while to get it back, and it doesn't happen overnight, you've got to work at it," he said.

"I'm a lot more comfortable now, it was a big challenge when I first took it over."

To help him bring more people through the doors, the 1880 has introduced the help of another popular publican, Glyn Daunt.

Mr Daunt was the former owner of Jack Duggans Irish Pub, and will be assisting with booking live musical acts to help encourage both a younger and older clientele through the 1880 doors.

Once this has been established, Mr Taylor said that he can start looking at other options to refurbish the venue.

"There will be a few things on the horizon that we look forward to, going forward," he said.

One of these plans, is the possibility of transforming the side laneway of the hotel into a more functional space.

Previously, this area was used as the designated smoking location, but Mr Taylor hopes that this can eventually become an additional dining space.

"We've cleaned it up, and we've got to be very careful because it is an exit so we can't obstruct it to a certain degree, but there's a few little things that we've got together that we plan to do later in the year," he said.

"We're toying with the idea of putting a tapas dining or something in there. Just to make it more comfortable and more pleasant to come in and have a drink or dine here."

The whiskey bar area is now a cocktail bar, specifically designated for crafting popular drinks and freeing up space in the main bar.

Plans are also in place to utilise this space to service takeaway drink orders.

"We're trying the idea of takeaway cocktails, so if you have a party at home you can take away cocktails and we can serve them for you, we've just got to get that all into place," Mr Taylor said.

And, for the warmer months towards the end of the year, he said there were plans to open up the area at the back of the tavern and add some timber decking around a large tree, increasing the potential for outdoor dining.

With these changes, Mr Taylor said he was looking forward to enjoying a positive trajectory for the pub.

"And now, I'll be around for a while," he said.