The Family Hotel
How would you describe The Family Hotel?
The Fam is a place for everyone. No matter your age, background or schooner drinking ability. We pride ourselves on inclusivity & don’t try to be something we’re not. You walk in the bar and, on first impression, it probably looks a little rough. That’s all part of the charm, though. We’re a pub for fun times, full of fruity drinks, hearty food and cheesy bartenders.
How has it changed since its opening?
The bar itself hasn’t changed too drastically. We still follow the same principals we did when we first opened the doors almost three years ago and people seem to respond positively. The venue is a little different to anywhere else in town. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, both in person & online, and we don’t expect our patrons to all be white-collar nine to five characters either.
The area surrounding us however, has drastically changed. More businesses, more development, more smiles, more noise. People feel safe walking the streets of Newcastle West again which for us, is a massive pat on the back. We see ourselves as pioneers for change in the area, along with a few other OG businesses that fought through the tough times. To see high-rise residential development within meters of the pub, a new transport interchange a couple of hundred meters down the road, and hundreds of people walking the streets every day is such a positive outcome.
How do you see The Family Hotel, and the wider Newcastle hospitality industry, evolving in the next 5 years?
Hopefully it’s bigger and better than ever. We’re looking to branch out and bring live music back to The Family, something it was iconic for 10 or 20 years ago and it’s something that genuinely excites us. As for the rest of Newy, we hope everyone works together to grow the cities nightlife and develop it into something we can all enjoy. It just takes us all working toward the same thing. If a business opens up beside you, go and wrap your arms around them. Lift them up, allow them to grow with you. Too long we’ve seen the us against them attitude in hospitality. We should all aim to compliment each other and grow as an industry. We saw how well this attitude worked in the West End and we know it can work across the wider Newcastle community.
You have cemented yourself as a go-to for Hospo people throughout Newcastle. Was this intentional? Do you think there are many options for hospo people on their days off in Newcastle?
We’d like to think it’s because we are a fun, accessible and enjoyable place to spend time. You can sit at the bar and have a chat to our bartenders if you’re cruising solo, or if you’re in a group, go and sink into a booth and relax with mates. Whether you’re in hospo or not, we’d hope people appreciate that. As for the developing hospo community here, it comes back to working together. We’re all in it as a team at the end of the day, so why not give our industry a safe space to blow off some steam when they have the opportunity. There's a bunch of fun things developing across the city for Hospo cats to enjoy every week, (including our pool comp every Monday 😏) and we make sure to send people in every direction if we hear about something cool going down elsewhere and vice versa.
Why do you choose GBL as your liquor wholesaler?
Their approach to business is one that aligns with our own. Collaborating and growing together is something we love doing and GBL gave us the opportunity to partner together and do some really cool, engaging stuff. They smash it on the business side of things too. Being as turbulent and unpredictable as the industry is, it’s easy to leave yourself short and in need of stock or equipment and in our experience, GBL has always been there to pick up the slack.
What drink would you say is currently most popular at The Family?
That’s a tough question. It’d depend on the night but our go-to daily drink for most regulars is an ice cold schooner of Melbourne Bitter. We’ve got some pretty fruity cocktails on the list, too. Forbes, our licensee & fearless leader, came up with a cocktail called the Turbo Shandy and likes to brag to all that’ll listen that it’s the only 'physics based drink' in Newcastle. As cryptic as that clue is, you’ll have to come in and find out what we’re talking about! It’s a bunch of fun.
Don’t forget to stop by The Family Hotel every Monday for their weekly Pool Competition with some epic prizes up for grabs thanks to Global Brands Liquor.