- 6 hours ago
Ooops I Bought A Pub S01E02
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00:01After what had turned out to be a hell of a scare when the pub I'd just bought sight unseen
00:06was void of a single patron.
00:07Hello?
00:09I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out they'd all been at the local races.
00:15There's a lot of people here.
00:17And the finish line was the Detarang Hotel.
00:21The place was bursting at the seams, making me realise the potential of this old pub
00:25is in fact much greater than I expected.
00:28But at what cost?
00:33In the key was something bright ahead
00:39Always open to me and all my friends
00:44Harmony, oh harmony
00:49Now we're home in the country
01:00A thick fog has settled over the Kiwa Valley, bringing a stillness as the team has come together to discuss
01:07our visions of the future for the Detarang Hotel, more commonly known as the Wranger.
01:13So this door's much narrower than the other door.
01:17There's Dean who convinced me that buying the place was a good idea.
01:20But before that he wanted to make absolutely sure the owner Dave would be happy with his ideas for the
01:26pub.
01:26And when I first mentioned to him that we're keen on buying the pub, and he said of all the
01:32people that I ever thought would ring to say that, you were never on that list.
01:35He goes, you don't even drink.
01:36And I go, yes, I know that.
01:39And I said, but before we do, I want to make sure you're happy with what our plans are for
01:44the pub.
01:44And I got Dave to send through an old floor plan, and I basically got a texter and marked up
01:50what our plans would be.
01:52And he started laughing, said back in a minute, went out the back, came back with a plan, a dream
01:57plan he'd drawn up five, six, seven, eight years earlier, and they're almost identical.
02:03Paint it out in the charcoal.
02:04Yeah.
02:05You know, hide all the rust, remove these.
02:07One of our investors, Matt Livy, is experienced in venue fit ads, so he'll be helping Andrew, our main project
02:14manager, kick things off.
02:16And you've got a post there, an existing post there.
02:19Peter, a local cattle farmer and draftsman, has drawn up our ideas.
02:24Both he and Andrew have very good knowledge of the Wrangers' history, as they've been associated with the pub for
02:29over 40 years.
02:32So, Dean, while we're in here, you were wanting to make this opening wider, weren't you?
02:36About whether this becomes more of a nib wall, shorter wall.
02:40So this is the only one that's got a full chimney that goes right in brickwork all the...
02:46That might be a good one not to change, Dean.
02:49What happens here? What are we going to do?
02:52I mean, no-one's been sued yet, but...
02:55There's no way of losing this ramp, really, is there?
02:58Beginning life sometime in the mid-19th century,
03:01the Detarang Hotel has had more facelifts than a Beverly Hills housewife.
03:06So this started off with a post office in that corner.
03:10Yeah. And you can still see where they put their letters through.
03:13And then this became the wine shanty.
03:16Yes.
03:16And then it kept on being extended.
03:18The wine shanty decided to add a kitchen,
03:21and then they decided to add some rooms for people to be able to stay.
03:24And the place has just slowly been added to over 150 years.
03:29So we wanted to go back and try and celebrate that,
03:33being the old post office,
03:34and restore what we could from it before it fell down, basically.
03:38But like any patient that's had too much work done...
03:41That's straight, isn't it?
03:45The old girl is looking a bit in need of some tender love and care.
03:49Have you seen this in here?
03:50Oh, this is special.
03:52This is fine, isn't it?
03:53None of that's a problem, is it?
03:55And the...
03:56Different.
03:56So it's got a sunken lounge room shower.
04:01You'd have to rip the whole thing out, wouldn't you, and start again?
04:03Yeah.
04:06It's not just the building that needs a bit of tender loving care.
04:09Previous owners, Dave McKnight and his partner Wendy,
04:12have kept the pub running for over 35 years,
04:15with hardly a day off.
04:18That's because they know how important the Ranga is
04:21to the local community.
04:23A lot of people think it's the carpet or it's the bar
04:26or it's the walls or whatever that makes the Ranga special,
04:29and it's not.
04:30It's the people.
04:32It's probably the only meeting place in the district.
04:36You can only see how many turn up on a Friday night
04:40at a bit of a meeting place for a couple of years.
04:42And they're not just serving food and drinks.
04:44There's not too many clubs in the district
04:47that aren't supported by the Ranga in some way.
04:49Footy and netball, cricket, bowls club, the tennis club, race club.
04:58Probably tiddlywinks if there was tiddlywinks.
05:01They also host important functions and gatherings,
05:05run the wildly popular footy competition for the district,
05:08as well as supporting the local CFA.
05:12So, yeah, they certainly deserve a break.
05:16The last 36 years we've made a lot of friends in the district
05:18and, you know, it's just their life now.
05:22Lucky for us, they're sticking around to keep us honest.
05:26Because if we stuff this up,
05:28the only ones using the bar will be the flies.
05:31The endless flies.
05:33All is welcome at the Ranga.
05:35Even the flies.
05:45In the Kiwa Valley in North East Victoria,
05:48the fog has finally lifted.
05:51Revealing the extent of the work ahead of us
05:53as we get ready to tackle the task of balancing
05:56a sense of history with modernisation.
05:59All right.
06:00One thing for sure is the locals have strong opinions
06:03about what should and shouldn't change.
06:07Different curtains would be great
06:09because it's one of the greatest views.
06:12It needs to be lighter because it's too dark in here.
06:15It's too 70s.
06:17Good for them to use the valley as a view out there.
06:20Just make it accessible for people with disabilities.
06:24That would be awesome.
06:26It's not just a pub.
06:28It's a vocal point in this area.
06:32This is all we've got.
06:33But there's one thing they all agree on.
06:36We've got to keep a good beer.
06:39We're not big on craft beer.
06:40There's beer and there's beer, mate.
06:43Don't change the beer.
06:45Got it.
06:45Change nothing, improve everything.
06:47That was our sort of motto.
06:50But people said, don't change a thing.
06:52Leave it exactly the way it is.
06:54And we had the same conversation probably a hundred times
06:57with locals and had to take them on the journey with us.
07:00And we would say, oh, look, you know, the men's toilet's not ideal.
07:03The ladies sitting in the bar have to look in and see guys
07:06standing at a urinal sort of thing on busy nights.
07:08So we want to change that.
07:09And I went, oh, yeah, that'd be a good idea.
07:11And we'd say, you know, and the toilets, you know,
07:14for the ladies here are not great.
07:16And it's cold out the back where they have to go.
07:19And they'd go, oh, yeah, my missus waits to go home to go to the toilet.
07:22She hates going the ones here.
07:23And we're like, so we want to put in new toilets.
07:25And we had to talk through each step.
07:27Everything.
07:27This pub is the beating heart of this district.
07:31And messing with it to the point where the locals don't feel at home
07:33would be the last thing we'd want to happen.
07:36By the same token, the pub needs to flourish if it's going to survive.
07:41So after many back and forths, the team have settled on a plan,
07:45which we think can accommodate both of those goals.
07:50The main idea is to open the old dining space up,
07:54removing the hallway and storage.
07:56We'll be increasing the size of the kitchen
07:58to bring it up to modern standards.
08:01The bar is much loved and will not change,
08:04apart from the relocation of the men's toilets
08:07into a much more desirable location.
08:10The biggest change will be the current undercover beer garden,
08:13which is really just a glorified shed with roller doors.
08:18It's about there. It's probably a touch high,
08:20but they're all a bit wrong, aren't they?
08:23We'll be transforming the space into a beautiful indoor family dining room.
08:27As well, it'll have its own bar and pizza kitchen.
08:31It'll make such a difference with glass doors all the way along, won't it?
08:35What we agreed early on that we wanted to do as the pub is keep it really homely,
08:40whilst we knew we had to open it up more because we really wanted to increase the view
08:46because it's the most beautiful valley in the world.
08:48Is it more work than we originally planned?
08:51Yeah, maybe a little.
08:52Is it more cost than we originally planned?
08:54Yeah, a lot.
08:56But we should be able to make it all work.
08:58That's if we don't encounter any surprises along the way.
09:02The timeframe?
09:03Well, what do they always say?
09:05In by Christmas.
09:06Of course, it's not just the building that creates a successful business.
09:09The meals are equally as important while the Rangas menu has been popular.
09:14Hello.
09:14How are you doing?
09:15How are you, mate?
09:16Great, thanks, Jane.
09:17Just like the venue, the menu is getting a bit of a reno as well.
09:21And as luck would have it, we nabbed an internationally regarded chef
09:25who has recently resettled in the valley and is excited about the challenge ahead.
09:29I've made a couple of things.
09:31So I've made an asparagus frittata.
09:33She did say, look, if ever you want to come and try some of the food I prep,
09:37please feel free to come to my place.
09:38And she lives really close to the pub.
09:40And this is our salami, Shane.
09:42Oh, my God!
09:44Yes!
09:45I think this is the best day ever.
09:47Do you want to try a little bit of frittata?
09:48I should try a bit of frittata.
09:50Can I eat a piece of salami while you're cutting the frittata?
09:53Yeah, Bay Creek asparagus.
09:56Oh, wow!
09:57And my own homemade ricotta.
10:00That's amazing.
10:01I rang her later that night and I said, how'd he go?
10:05And she said, I thought he was going to only try one or two things off the menu.
10:09He tried everything on the menu.
10:12And I said, yep.
10:15The truth is Dave and Wendy have always said there's like six or seven things
10:20that have always been ordered.
10:22So as long as we keep those on the menu and then have a bit of fun from there.
10:27The fact that we're going fully vegetarian, it'll shock a few.
10:30Well, it's even going to shock me now that I've heard it.
10:32But at the same time, I feel like, you know, the food here has, you know, served a purpose
10:36and really, you know, the reviews, Google reviews are amazing.
10:40Yeah.
10:40Everyone raves about it.
10:41So, you know, they've done such a great job all these years.
10:45Ali won't just be renovating the menu.
10:47Here it is.
10:49She'll also be able to guide the construction of the new kitchen to make sure it's up to scratch.
10:54I feel like that salad bar is a bit outdated.
10:57Like, you know, it's a bit of a health issue as well.
10:59We're about to learn what it will take to move this kitchen into the future.
11:04Yeah, I think my issue is that most restaurants that I've ever worked in,
11:08I'm sort of just plating it up and then it gets taken from there kind of thing.
11:11Whereas this is getting plated up here and it's got to go over there.
11:15Have you got a takeover date?
11:17Monday. Monday.
11:18Monday. Okay. Good.
11:21Yeah.
11:22Insight.
11:22Monday.
11:24Monday.
11:24Yeah.
11:25It's getting real.
11:29Oh, the country.
11:30There ain't nothing like it.
11:32Rolling hills.
11:34Nature everywhere.
11:35A simple life abounds.
11:38Oh, the serenity.
11:43But Monday has arrived.
11:45And with it, some of the first tradies that will be helping transform the wrangor
11:49are now on site and getting stuck into the makeover.
11:55This is a good day, isn't it?
11:59The first thing that needs to be done is the disposal of everything that can't be repurposed.
12:04And that appears to be a whole lot more than we thought.
12:07And the skips are filling up faster than you can say,
12:09I think we're going to need a bigger skip.
12:17This particular section might be at end of life.
12:20These rooms are set to become the new men's and ladies' bathrooms.
12:23So there'll be a lot of plumbing to go in, as well as heavy tiles.
12:28First room sorted out.
12:30So strong footings are essential.
12:34We'll leave the old mail slot for the post office.
12:37That was the original spot where people put their letters in.
12:42Well, at least we don't have to worry about rotting floor joists in the old post office.
12:48So as you know, Shane, this is the old, the original post office.
12:51Yeah.
12:52And we've had to jack it up about six inches.
12:57From there?
12:58No, from about here to there.
13:00Yeah.
13:01And we lift up the floorboards and they'd been laid on dirt.
13:05So it's just compacted dirt.
13:07Apparently it used to happen 150 years ago.
13:10It's one of those things, as soon as you see it, you go,
13:11do we just lower the board back down and tiptoe away?
13:14Or do you go, we're going to have to fix that?
13:18The light switches are up above us here.
13:23It wasn't just the floors though.
13:25When we started pulling walls out, the builder said,
13:27you're pretty much going to have to rewire the whole place and plumb it.
13:31Yep.
13:32And then I said to you, do you know any good plumbers or good electricians in the area?
13:37And you went Tonkin.
13:38And I said, oh yeah, which one do they do?
13:41And you said both.
13:46All of this walls going down.
13:48Yep.
13:48Which opens it up in this dining area.
13:51So this freezer's coming out.
13:52Freezer will go out.
13:53Yep.
13:54They will be looking after the electrics and the plumbing for the place.
13:57And dare I say it, they'll be in for a challenge.
14:04So that's part of the men's toilet now.
14:07Under tile heating in all bathrooms.
14:11Yeah, you can put two pendants in the middle of the artwork.
14:14Yep.
14:14And then, you know, four or five down lights across to actually give it a good light.
14:18This will probably be the feature space I reckon.
14:22As we have big plans for the wringer, it's going to mean substantial upgrades.
14:27That 100 litre grease trap's not going to be enough.
14:30When someone said grease trap, I thought it was a new musical.
14:33Yeah.
14:33Turns out we had to get a massive thing.
14:35Was it 3,500 litres looked like a submarine?
14:38The one that was here was 100 litres and we found out that was about 3,400 litres smaller than
14:44they needed to be.
14:45Than we needed for what we were doing.
14:46Yeah.
14:47Turns out renovating an old pub is a bit like peeling an onion.
14:51That's a light bearing wall.
14:53Every layer reveals another issue, as well as making our eyes water.
14:57Oh, there's a bit on it.
15:00Yeah, that's all looking a bit hard.
15:02I'm out of here.
15:03I'm going to go for a drive and see if I can find some local producers who can help us
15:07with Chef Ali's goal of only using local ingredients.
15:11I believe you may have a little bit of lettuce.
15:13We have a little bit of lettuce.
15:14Yeah.
15:14That's a lot of lettuce.
15:16We want to do sort of the whole patty to plate thing, you know, which I'm sure you've heard before.
15:21Langara is a family business that has been supplying fresh lettuce for over 10 years.
15:27Who else buys your lettuce?
15:28Who do you sell to?
15:29Mum and Dad have always been passionate about selling to local family owned businesses.
15:34Oh, like independents?
15:35That's right, yes.
15:35Like independent grocers?
15:37That's right.
15:37Like IGA?
15:38We sell to a few IGA's.
15:39You see that?
15:40See how I did that?
15:41Seamless, eh?
15:42Got to plug in, eh?
15:44Boom.
15:45He's very skilful at disappearing.
15:48It'd be a tough day.
15:49We'd be having a meeting.
15:51And we're all sitting around waiting for Shane.
15:53And he'd apparently go and check out lettuce.
15:55And he'd just drop them in.
15:56Just drop them straight in.
15:58So I'm, I'm technically farming as we speak.
16:02You're farming as we speak.
16:03Oh, look at me go.
16:04I don't know what he gets fussed about.
16:05I was gone for like one hour.
16:06That was it.
16:07It was about three hours.
16:10It was probably more like three hours.
16:12But it's important research.
16:13I mean, I haven't eaten this much lettuce in my entire life.
16:17Hope I don't have a bad reaction.
16:22After completing my important research into organic lettuce,
16:26I've arrived back at the wrangor.
16:27And it seems like everything is going along just fine without me.
16:33Time to get to know some of our amazing staff just a little bit better.
16:37Hi mate.
16:37How you going?
16:38I'm good.
16:39How are you?
16:39Good.
16:40Can I get you anything?
16:41Uh, yeah, you can order me a really big truck.
16:44Truck?
16:45To organise a delivery that I've, I think I've just stuffed up.
16:48That's right.
16:49I'll, actually I'll just have a Coke.
16:52Tyrone has been a part of the Wranger family for quite a while.
16:55And we're very happy staying on and stepping up as one of our new managers.
17:00So how long have you worked here now?
17:01Uh, it's been about five years now.
17:03And you still love it?
17:04Still love it.
17:05It's the best place I've ever worked.
17:07Because you can't leave Tyrone.
17:09We don't want you to leave.
17:10I won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
17:12Good.
17:13So did you know Dave before you worked here?
17:15Uh, I met Dave through Bianca.
17:18So she works in the kitchen.
17:20Bianca, who works here?
17:21Yeah.
17:22Is she a friend of yours?
17:23Uh, yeah, she's my fiancee, yeah.
17:25She's your fiancee?
17:26Yep.
17:26Been engaged two years now.
17:28So when's the big date?
17:29Uh, we haven't set a date yet.
17:30We're still just saving up for it.
17:32Because, because you haven't got the money to do it.
17:34Yeah.
17:34They can get expensive.
17:35Yes.
17:36Why, where do you want to have it?
17:37Uh, we always wanted to get married here.
17:39At the pub?
17:39Yes.
17:40Yeah.
17:41It's been such a big part of our lives for so long.
17:43So it'd be lovely to do it here.
17:46Well when, do you want to get married sooner or rather later?
17:49Yeah, sooner.
17:50Well it's our seventh anniversary in eight weeks, so we're hoping to try.
17:55You would like to get married in eight weeks?
17:57Yeah.
17:58Yeah.
18:00What if, what if we were to try and help you have the wedding here?
18:05That would be unbelievable.
18:09Wouldn't know what to say to that.
18:11Would, would you say yes?
18:12I would, we would love it.
18:15Alright.
18:16And you'd have it here?
18:17I probably should talk to her, yeah.
18:19Would you call her?
18:20Oh yeah, I can call her.
18:21I'm sure she'd be over the moon.
18:23See if she says yes.
18:24Come on, give her a ring.
18:25Cool.
18:26Fire up.
18:28Are you sure the pub'll be ready?
18:32You ring her, I'll, I'll sort that out.
18:36Alright.
18:37Well I'll be back.
18:38I wonder what Dean's going to think of this.
18:42Do we have any big disagreements?
18:46No, I don't think so.
18:47Do we?
18:48Oh, the wedding?
18:51Yeah, that wasn't ideal.
18:53The wedding.
18:57Hi mate.
18:58Hey mate.
18:59How are we going?
19:01Good.
19:02We're knocking it out these guys.
19:05So we're, where are we looking as far as schedule?
19:09How far away from being finished?
19:10They're really good.
19:11I reckon four and a half months, something like that, we should be done.
19:17Do you reckon we could hold a smallish function here in about eight weeks?
19:23Here where?
19:24At the pub?
19:25Yeah.
19:26When you say function, what sort of thing you got in mind?
19:29Like a, kind of like a wedding.
19:31Kinda like a wedding.
19:32Well, exactly like a wedding.
19:35Like a wedding.
19:36As in a wedding wedding?
19:38Yeah.
19:38Where people say I do and all of that.
19:40Yeah.
19:41So, I was just talking to Tyrone.
19:44Did you know him and Bianca are engaged?
19:45Mhm.
19:46Okay.
19:47Well, I asked him if he'd want to get married in eight weeks on their seventh anniversary
19:52and he's just gone to ask her if she'd like to do it.
19:56But we're here.
19:57Yeah.
19:59Hmm.
20:01She says yes.
20:03Nah, she's not going to want to do that.
20:05Why not?
20:05Because look at the...
20:06Well, look at the joint.
20:07How's that going to work?
20:08No, well not now.
20:09In eight weeks.
20:10If we could get this place in shape in eight weeks...
20:14Can we do that?
20:16Everyone's going to have to wear gum boots.
20:18Like, how's that going to work?
20:21We can't rush it a bit?
20:23No, Bianca won't want to rush it.
20:25You know, it's a special day and all that.
20:28Shay!
20:29She's in!
20:34Ah, shit.
20:36That looks like a yes, doesn't it?
20:38Mm-hmm.
20:40We bought a pub.
20:41Do you reckon we could hold like a wedding in about eight weeks?
20:43Here?
20:44Yeah.
20:45How will they walk down the aisle when it's still a building site?
20:48She's not going to want to do that.
20:49Shay!
20:50She's in!
20:51New Oops! I bought a pub.
20:54Next Saturday.
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