In this week’s episode of the Full Production podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with my good mate, and Cobar legend, Peter Payne. Peter is an ex-pub operator, a solicitor, a Cobar old hand and a guy who’s accumulated a heap of wisdom over the years. Prompted by his proud family, Peter recently realised a life-long dream of becoming a lawyer. Prior to that, he was the owner of The Occidental Hotel, a foundation of the Cobar community.
Listen to this episode to hear all about Peter’s early days, some of the tragic events in his life and how they shaped him, the pub, mining communities and how they’re changing, and how Peter returned to his dream after many years.
Also touched on in the episode:
- Wild stories from the early days of Cobar
- The story of Peter’s path to owning a pub
- Peter’s formula for dealing with customers
- What intrigued Peter about ‘the mine’
- The evolution trends of many mining communities
- Why Peter became a solicitor
- What regulation has done to the pub industry
- The ‘black beer club’
- How the role of hoteliers and publications has degraded
- Advice to small business owners in mining towns
- Why ‘drive in drive out’ is the way of the future
Links:
The New Occidental Hotel
Cobar Weekly
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