A legendary pub in the tiny West Coast town of Blackball has been thrown a lifeline after the owners decided to rent it out instead of closing its doors for good.
Jane Wells and Pat Kennedy told OneRoof they still planned to retire from their life behind the bar on September 19, but promised the Blackball Inn and 08 Cafe would live on.
Instead of selling the Hilton Road property, which they had tried to do, they are renting it to a former employee.
She had left the pub last year to run her own small beauty product business in Greytown but is moving back to Blackball to run the pub.
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Wells and Kennedy first wanted $450,000 for their pub, but they only received one offer, which fell over.
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The decision to close the pub had been “unpopular” and locals had been wracking their brains to see what they could do to keep it open, Wells told OneRoof.
“So we thought, ‘Why don’t we jolly well lease it, and then we can get our freedom’. Someone else can have a go and maybe we will put it back on the market in a year or two.”
They made their decision public at the inn’s social club night last weekend and it was met with a huge cheer. “The woman who is taking over was here and everyone was delighted. They all know her and all love her,” Wells said.
The couple’s last night behind the bar remains September 19. The inn will re-open under new management on September 24.
Wells and Kennedy, who have a long connection with Blackball, are moving back to their cottage in the town, which would be a base for their biking and caravanning adventures.
Wells said they were happy with the decision and looked forward to enjoying it from the other side of the bar. “As Pat said, if we closed it, where’s he going to drink?”
Blackball Inn and 08 Cafe owners Jane Wells and Pat Kennedy will retire later this month. Photo / Facebook
The pub is a popular meeting spot with locals and hosts events including quiz nights and live music. Photo / Supplied
This week they will farewell the inn with several events including a big “yahoo / farewell” night on Saturday and a final potluck dinner on the very last night.
Wells said they would look at putting the buildings back on the market in a couple of years when the market picked up. They had already slashed the asking price by several hundreds of dollars from the initial asking price of $789,000 when it was first listed two years ago in the hope of luring in a new owner.
Wells told OneRoof in June that they had loved owning the pub. However, Pat was 80 and she was 79 and it was time to slow down, which is why they had given themselves a firm deadline.
The Blackball Inn and the Blackball Hilton are the only two pubs serving the small town of 300. Wells had a lot of fun arranging all sorts of events from darts competitions, quiz nights, live music, themed nights and even limerick competitions, which were popular with locals and visitors passing through.
The West Coast town is a popular spot with walkers who visit the town to do the Paparoa Track and more recently the newly opened Pike 29 Memorial Track, which is dedicated to the 29 men killed in the Pike River Mine disaster and leads to the site of the former Pike River Mine, opened at the start of this year.
“This is a great wee town and all sorts of people come and you hear their stories. It’s quite amazing really,” Wells said.
“There are interesting people too – people from Nelson, people from Christchurch, a few people who are left behind from the days when they just didn’t want to leave.”
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