As a schoolgirl, Mel East would join her extended family for meals at Briars Inn, absorbing everything around her from the food to the decor and most importantly, to how it was such a special place for friends and family to gather together.
Back then, she would never have thought Briars would weave its magic in and around her own career [+ heart!].
We chat to the driving force behind the new look Briars, Mel East and what life is like for a dedicated hospitality pro with a special place in her heart for historic pubs with character and personality.
1 :: What started your love affair with Briars?
I went to school in the area at Frensham, so I was always coming to Briars back then with family and friends.
I saw it as a multi generational place where you can sit down with grandparents and parents and friends. It was always such a great spot to be.
2 :: Your career in hospitality started early too, didn’t it?
I guess you’d say I fell into hotels straight after school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do so got a job behind a bar and pulled my first beer at The London Hotel in Balmain.
I fell in love with pub life and also old pubs. They’ve got such character.
I worked for the family who owned The London and kept working for them in regional NSW.
3 :: Until you got a call from Briars….
That’s right. A family friend called me and let me know that Bob and Sarah Adams needed someone to give them a hand operating the whole site. That was back in 2004.
Sadly, Bob passed away and Sarah sold the Briars two years later. I stayed on and worked for the new owner [Matthew Duffy] as Licensee/General Manager, living onsite so I really lived and breathed the place for a while there.
The company owned a number of other pubs, so I worked as an Area Manager for about five years for them until moving back to Sydney.
4 :: What prompted the move back to Sydney?
I worked for Keystone Hospitality Group in a Group Operations role – they owned about ten venues at that point, so that was great exposure to busy Sydney venues – Cargo Bar being their biggest asset. They had some lovely old pubs including The Australian Hotel in The Rocks. Once again, I ended up working with beautiful old pubs – it seems to be a bit of a theme in my career!
A few years later, I had the opportunity to work for Redcape Hotel Group which was one of the leading pub groups in NSW at the time and they’ve got a national footprint now. My role there was in the project team and I was responsible for the project management of the design and fit out of pubs they acquired. We ended up doing 30 hotels in five years which was a great experience and exposure for me.
After Redcape I fell into consulting work because lots of people would ask me to help them with their pubs and I had always wanted to move back to the Highlands, so saw it as an opportunity to do that.
I bought a cottage in Moss Vale which I renovated…of course!
5 :: And then you got another call from Briars…
Yes, this was after the fire at Briars. Matthew was still the owner but had leased it out over a number of years to different operators.
Matthew and I had remained friends over the years and he knew I had been doing project work around fitouts and design of pubs, and was consulting. So he called to see if I could help him out getting the tenants back into the space as it had been closed far too long.
I ended up buying the lease for the pub during this time and because I’d worked with Matthew previously, he trusted me to oversee the renovation. Plus, we had a similar vision to go bigger and restore the venue so it lasts for another 175 years.
6 :: So after years of consulting and doing this for others, you ended up running your own pub!
Yes, and that was always the dream really.
Because I had a connection with Briars, having gone there as a kid but also working there for a number of years, I really felt the pressure to create something amazing.
Everyone in the Highlands has a connection to Briars and the expectations were high.
I’ll be honest, it was really nerve wracking for the first few months. I just hoped people could see I was really looking after it, that I wanted to give it new life and recreate that multi-generational gathering spot I loved going to when I was a kid.
7 :: How did you use design to do that?
We wanted to respect the heritage of the property from the very beginning but wanted to bring in contemporary elements while still creating different experiences across the whole property.
The Throsby Bar with its dark decor and fireplaces gives a really moody but cosy feel, the bistro is light and bright and spacious, renovating the beautiful rooms upstairs from offices and storerooms to private dining rooms, and then of course, there is the outside areas which celebrates the way we like to gather with friends and family alfresco and also showcases the original parts of the building, the gardens and the wisteria covered verandahs.
8 :: It’s been challenging though since you opened, hasn’t it?
Like many businesses in the Highlands, we had to deal with the pandemic and closed for a number of months. The wet summer months didn’t help either. We created all these beautiful outdoor spaces but we’ve been having more wet weekends than sunny ones.
But it’s a good opportunity to keep improvising and improving our current offering too.
An example of that is we introduced the Marquee which is for larger groups of friends and family.
I get it. My family is big too, so it was important to me that we create a space where large groups can really relax. It’s a lovely warm, new space and we’re getting great feedback about it already. It’s also another option for increasing capacity whenever we have wet weather, seeing La Nina is on its way back again.
9 :: Tell us about Briars Weddings
We’ve just renovated The Conservatory next door behind the Lodge and it’s looking so great.
There are lots of enquiries coming in for that. Couples can get married on site by the private lake before the reception in The Conservatory. Plus, with the hotel accommodation and Briars Inn on their doorstep, guests are well and truly catered for. It’s been great to work on rebuilding that part of the business after the pandemic impacted it.
The whole property is great for conferences too. It offers up a lot of options for meetings as well as more formal dining/function events.
10 :: And that’s just what we are loving about Briars now. It really offers so many experiences, doesn’t it?
That’s right. We’re not just a restaurant with a bar attached anymore.
You can come and have an Aperol Spritz on the front lawn in the summer and a beautiful long lunch by the fire in the winter, have a casual dinner and pizza with family on a Saturday night on the deck or date night in the Throsby Bar.
11 :: Has running your own pub been what you thought it would be?
It’s been absolutely worth it, even with all the challenges.
I’ve always trusted in the decisions I’ve made when working for other people, but had to trust my gut a little bit more when making decisions for my own business. But having 30 years of experience in the industry has made my instinct pretty strong too.
Back when I started in the industry, it was an industry you kind of worked in until you found something else but I never left the industry. And now the hospitality and pub industry definitely offers up some fantastic career opportunities from functions and events through to business operations, administration and kitchen work.
We’re always looking for people who have a real love for the industry and want to grow their career. We offer great rates and opportunities including staff accommodation too. Things that help with giving all our team great work life balance is important too.
12 :: And the food is so great. Talk to us a bit more about that.
Food is a big part of my life, so when we created the menu, we wanted to give a nod to the history of the food that was served here but also because diets and lifestyles have changed so much in the last couple of decades, make sure we covered a range of tastes and likes, as well as nostalgia.
The steaks and meat we serve are all premium quality. My father was in the meat industry and we’ve got farmers in the family, so I’ve been exposed to that side of things – I know my cuts and I know quality. My relationship with our suppliers is very important. It’s about consistency and quality for us.
Introducing the shared meats menu was about family and friends sharing food and experiences together, while also making it more affordable for people.
The shared meats menu went so well, we introduced the shared dessert options too.
It’s a big menu and we change it around to incorporate changes in seasons and what people like to eat in the winter or in the summer and of course, what’s available from our suppliers.
13 :: So, what’s next for you and Briars, Mel?
I want to do so much more and challenges around staff shortages that all industries are experiencing right now, recovering from the pandemic, the weather etc have slowed us down a bit. We’re in a bit of a consolidation phase at the moment.
But saying that, I’m really excited about the future. We’ve achieved so much in a short space of time.
We’re so grateful to all the locals who have embraced Briars and really get what we’re doing here.
And the team we’re building is fantastic. We have such a great team who are all really focused on creating wonderful experiences for everyone who visits Briars.
It’s an exciting time!
Built in 1845, one of the Southern Highlands most loved family friendly venues, Briars, has been lovingly restored to create a warm and relaxed space where old meets new. A philosophy of simplicity and authenticity underpins all that is Briars – from the menu of premium sourced meats and produce, to the beautiful grounds that feel like your own.
Located in Burradoo, halfway between the townships of Bowral and Moss Vale in the NSW Southern Highlands, Briars is a good old-fashioned pub with a modern twist. Head here to make a booking or find out more information about this much loved local pub!
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