QHA November 2017

FOCUS
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
QHA REVIEW | 56
SINCE BUYING THE LEASE OF GYMPIE’S ROYAL
HOTEL IN DECEMBER LAST YEAR, PROPRIETORS
STACEY LOWE AND LINC PHELPS HAVE REVITALISED
A VENUE WITH A RAW PAST.
Taking a zero-tolerance stance on anti-social
behaviours and embracing a family-friendly ethos have
earned the new owners the community’s respect,
which was formally acknowledged in September when
the Gympie Chamber of Commerce awarded the
Royal Hotel “Business of the Year”.
“I was literally in shock when they announced it,”
Stacey says. “I was shaking and my knees nearly gave
way … because, to my mind, pubs don’t get these
awards. It was a very proud moment for us.”
Under the Royal’s previous owners, Stacey had been
the full-time duty manager and Linc a perennial jackof-all-trades,
doing a bit of everything around the
pub. As a budding muso, his first visits to the Royal
had been to play weekend gigs before Stacey got
him steadier work at the pub’s bottle shop, then as a
glassy and later as bar manager.
“He was the best glassy this pub had ever seen,” says
Stacey. But of course it was his musical talents that
impressed her most. “That’s how we met, with
the music.”
The pair became a couple after working at the hotel
for a few years together and according to Stacey
“turned the town on its head” on account of Linc being
20 years younger. Their relationship even attracted
local media attention with an interview in the Lifestyle
section of the Queensland Times describing their
romance as having raised a few eyebrows.
But, as Linc said at the time, “Once you find that one
person in the world that’s worth fighting for, nothing
else matters.”
No pub in the world is without its incidents and
altercations, but for Stacey and Linc accepting any
level of anti-social behaviour in their pub wasn’t an
option. No sooner had they acquired ownership than
they took matters in hand, taking the unprecedented
step of banning a few trouble-makers, promoting the
popular “One punch can kill” anti-violence campaign
with signage and T-shirts and posting reminders to
patrons on social media that bigotry and bullying
weren’t welcome.
“A no-bullying post I put up when a lesbian couple was
harassed by a guy in here got worldwide attention,”
says Stacey. “It got around 13,000 likes and 3,500
shares on Facebook. I was also interviewed by ABC
radio and got crazy attention for weeks.”
“The culture is changing and the bullying behaviour
has now gone since we addressed it,” says Linc.
“Our stance has made an impression on
the community.”