Manilla's newest publican buys Imperial after epic charity pub crawl

After travelling over 4000 kilometres to drink at every Royal Hotel he could find in NSW, he's now the proud owner of his very own pub, Manilla's grand old Imperial Hotel.

"I lost my bottle. It was anxiety. And I spent nearly two years sitting in bed," he said.

"And a friend of mine I met in a pub said I've got a really great idea to go on a royal tour. I'm going to go round all the Royal hotels in NSW over the school holidays.

"And I said bugger it, I'm coming."

Matt joined fellow teacher Cameron Cowen on the epic 2020 pub crawl. Together they helped raise over $6000 for men's mental health charity LIVIN.

"We visited 32 Royal Hotels in 11 days," he said.

"And rather than come home with a souvenir t-shirt I said, let's buy a pub.

"After watching me sit there wallow in my bed for two years, my wife said 'okay'."

Manilla's Imperial Hotel was up for sale at the time and it was too beautiful to say no to, he said.

They took over last November.

READ MORE:

It was the first time either Matt or his wife Sue Beaven had ever held a hotel licence. They moved to Manilla from Newcastle and now live above the hotel with their young son.

The true irony is that Matt and Cameron actually visited Manilla on their journey.

"We went to the Royal Hotel on our journey, but we never actually saw this pub. I don't think we even drove past it."

Matt said he's now a "reformed man" but said more men need to speak up about their mental health problems.

"It is difficult for people to talk about anxiety. My pub and my family are always open for a conversation. Come on down," he said.

"There are too many people who are suffering out there and afraid to go to a specialist.

"I would love for people to speak to their mates before they do something drastic. That was our message. Go down the pub, have a chat."

Cameron is planning another NSW-wide pub crawl in July - but he will be sticking with just the state's Royal Hotels, not the Imperials.

"That would be feathering my own nest," Matt joked.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: