Cobden hotel on market after 100 years of operation by same family

The 63-year-old has memories of the hotel that stretch back to when he was a young boy.

The hotel was opened in 1904 by Mr Gayton's great grandfather Dennis Thompson.

When Dennis passed away, Mr Gayton's grandfather Leo took over.

Mr Gayton's mother Mary was born in Cobden but attended boarding school in Melbourne.

Her brother Bob eventually took over and Mr Gayton has fond memories of visiting the hotel as a child.

He said his uncle had three pluto guns on the beer kegs behind the bar - Mr Gayton and his siblings thought they looked like great fun.

"We thought they were water pistols and we were having a great fight," he laughed.

Mr Gayton remembers running upstairs to hide in a cupboard after his uncle caught them in the act.

Happier memories include his uncle teaching him how to pour a beer at age 12.

When Bob died in 1984, Mr Gayton headed to Cobden to take over the hotel.

He has had a number of stints running the hotel over the years, in between times when it was leased to managers.

"The hotel was originally called The Grand Central, but there was also a hotel in Cobram called Grand Central so Leo, my grandfather, changed the name to his family name Thompson," he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a very challenging time for Mr Gayton, who was trying to run the Cobden hotel as well as the hotel he owns in Ballarat.

It was during a visit to Cobden, which coincided with his late mother Mary's 100^th birthday, that he decided to put the hotel on the market.

He took a bottle of bubbly for his mum and a can of beer for himself to her grave and remembered when she spoke about not wanting him to run the hotel if it became too stressful.

Mr Gayton said he decided to sell the pub after leasing it to very competent managers and renovating it from "top to bottom".

He said the hotel was expected to sell for about $900,000.

Mr Gayton said there had been a number of parties interested in buying the pub.

His hope is that it is bought by someone who knows how much it is valued by so many community members.

"I'd love to see someone who loves the place as much as I do buy it," he said.

"I'd like to see it going in another 100 years."

The hotel is being sold by CRE Brokers.

It also offers 12 accommodation rooms on the second floor and there is a long lease in place.

For more information contact Rohan Pertzel on 0438 918 919.

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