In the past 18 months one local business doubled it’s faith in the Tamworth CBD, and then doubled down again, opening four Peel Street businesses in a matter of three years, and there are no plans to slow down.
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Six months ago there were concerns regarding a series of empty shops in the CBD, although Fraser Haughton and Chris Conforth’s company, Harvest, has bucked that trend, and now have two businesses at either end.
The company recently added Sonny’s Bakery to their stable of eateries and pubs, which also include The Pig and Tinder, The Albert, and The Courthouse Hotel.
While the savvy business operators have obviously done their research, they have also put a lot of faith in the local economy by “taking a punt” on Tamworth, and have credited the local staff as one of the main reasons for their success.
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“Tamworth has a reasonable population, but for a regional town it has the resources to grow – it is the bottleneck to the northwest,” Mr Haughton said.
“We were also able to grow because of the people that work for us. We got really lucky attracting and retaining good people, we have a great group of staff.”
After being involved in “pubs and small bars” in Sydney for a while, the two friends took the leap and went out alone, opening their “first test case”, Percy’s Bar and Kitchen in Orange in October 2014.
Just six months later, they saw the ‘Old Bank’ building on Peel Street, and in May 2015, The Pig and Tinder opened, adding a fresh dynamic to the Tamworth hospitality scene, which has continued to bloom ever since.
“It was a real punt, which is not really like us, but we stuck to our guns,” Mr Haughton said.
“We were busy straight away but it took six-to-12 months to become established and comfortable.”
In December 2016, the pair bought The Courthouse Hotel, which is about to undergo massive interior renovations starting next month.
“We are getting the whole pub done – a bigger, better bar, dining and outside areas, while also keeping the TAB and a genuine public bar,” Mr Haughton said.
“We want to keep the blue collar punters, but also be a reasonable place for young families and groups of women to come.”
Just 13 months later in March 2017, the company took the reins of The Albert, straight across the road, and then just weeks later opened Sonny’s Bakery, right next door to The Pig and Tinder.
“The Albert was a terrific opportunity – a big block of land and one of few late-night and music venues in town,” Mr Haughton said.
“We want to re-establish it as a cranking late-night venue, and put a more permanent stage and entertainment structure out the back.”
As for the new bakery, that decision was more of a defensive one.
“We heard the shop was up for grabs and didn’t want anything going in there that could challenge The Pig and Tinder, so we sat down and thought about what we wanted to do, and what Tamworth didn’t have.
“We came up with a genuine artisan bakery brekkie spot, and so far it has been going well.”
While the business is busy, the idea is far from fully baked as the company sets its sights on rising further in the near future.
“We want to build a commercial bakery in Tamworth in the next year or so – in essence we want to take this one as big as we can,” Mr Haughton said.
