On Horrocks Highway, the main route from Adelaide to Clare, is the Sevenhill Hotel which is over 160 years old which invites all, including a pet snake, dog and cockatoo.
The Sevenhill Hotel opened in 1863 as the "Black Eagle" Hotel, and hotel features a replica eagle in the front bar to remember their old identity, until World War two where they then changed the name to avoid affiliation with the Nazis.
Publicans Paul Longbottom and wife Kate Shadiac bought the hotel in August 2013 after moving from Adelaide.
"My background was hotels and wine sales so when a hotel came up in a wine region, I was like 'I know these things' and have been here ever since," Paul said.
The hotel has 27 employees in a town with a population of 163 people according to the last Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
"The township is expanding fairly well for the size of the town and there's a lot of new development and subdivisions and new people moving into the area, which is really good," Paul said.
"For a little country pub, we are putting a lot back into the community.
"We've got to focus on our food and service and just good country hospitality.
"We've won best country dining five out of six years in South Australia, so because we don't have any foot traffic we need to bring people to us.
He said they provide good value, good food and good service which set them apart from other hotels.
"We get busy when we have weddings, but we have had gourmet weekends, and our 151st birthday of the hotel was a big night," he said.
"Under the pervious owners, the hotel was actually closed on its 150th birthday so we did a party for its 151st birthday.
"But some of the biggest days and nights we've had here, we don't even know they're happening, they just happen.
"Sometimes we get post wedding parties, then another group and we'd be here until all hours of the morning - it's good fun and you never know what's coming in the door."
Paul said they were an hour and a half from everywhere and had became a meeting point for many clubs.
"We have had the Rolls Royce Owners Club National rally come through and on Sunday we had the Mustang Owners Club with 60 mustangs," he said.
"We also participate in the Variety Bash so we have a lot of fundraising for that throughout the year.
"Variety have been through with the bash, the Moto run and four wheel drive events.
"When we do the variety bash, that's sort of like a holiday and a bit of a celebration."
Paul said the Sevenhill Hotel provides a courtesy bus for the local area.
"We will come and collect patrons from the caravan parks locally or even if a group is coming from a private residence, we will come and get them and take them home at the end of the night if they require it," he said.
"It helps us get people out of the pub at the end of the night too."
He said the key to running a successful pub was keeping a smile on your face and being personable.
"You're a beacon of the community where people come in to leave things here, people come and pick things up," he said.
"Being part of the community is really important.
"Vintages are starting so there will be a lot of winding down over the next six or eight weeks because they do long days and they start early and they come in and have beer and knock off at the end of the day."
The Sevenhill Hotel is open seven days a week from 11am and offer a season menu.
"We try and stay on trend and interesting and affordable," he said.
This is part of Stock Journal's iconic pub series - stay tuned for more pub stories to come.
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Kiara Stacey
Journalist for Stock Journal. Kiara was in classified sales at Stock Journal before joining the editorial team in 2021. Kiara completed a Bachelor of Communication (journalism) at Deakin University the year prior.
Journalist for Stock Journal. Kiara was in classified sales at Stock Journal before joining the editorial team in 2021. Kiara completed a Bachelor of Communication (journalism) at Deakin University the year prior.
