HSA July 2023

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P U B L I C A N P R O F I L E Allen and Daniel with Premiership Cup at The Grove Tavern. Allen dressed as Santa. “Over the years, many people have come to me and said, ‘oh they’re running out of land at Golden Grove’ but they keep finding more land. “Even now, they’re talking about 500 houses going up the road again. “When I used to drive Daniel to school, I used to drive past sheep in the paddocks, now there’s all houses there.” Although once bitten, the Cassins knew they couldn’t be twice shy about taking a punt on the Grove with the imminent arrival of gaming in SA. It was a gamble that paid off in spades when they were offered the freehold of the pub within two years by the Hickinbotham Group, who even financed them at a friendly interest rate to take it. But nothing worth having comes that easily. TACTICAL ‘WARFARE’ The Cassins stumbled head first into fresh challenges in their new venture. “It was a gamble that paid off in spades when they were offered the freehold of the pub within two years by the Hickinbotham Group... But nothing worth having comes that easily.” They had a vision for what they wanted their pub to look like and it didn’t include the bikies who frequented it. Persuading them to move on resembled tactical warfare – replacing the beer cans they liked with stubbies, removing the posts from the front of the pub where they parked their bikes, slowly weeding out their girlfriends from serving as bar staff, and replacing the entire female bar staff with men. Eventually, the bikies disappeared in disgust… but so too did the cash flow. “We didn’t sleep at night for a while,” recalled Gina, who was equally concerned about retribution. “After we got rid of the bikies, there was a lull and you thought, ‘this is not working’ for probably six months or a bit longer. I was worried about it but the business did come back,” Allen said. “We put in things like Schnitzels Plus which is a really family-themed restaurant, there were about 20 schnitzel toppings you could choose from, a salad bar, a dessert bar, and we had Playstations for the kids too,” Daniel explained. “And then we put in live music which is something we still have today. “Some days, even as the operator, you think, ‘am I overspending here?’. “But it’s worth it, even just having a 18 | Hotel SA | www.ahasa.asn.au Back to Contents
P U B L I C A N P R O F I L E Winners of Best Gaming Room - Metropolitan at the 2009 AHA National Awards for Excellence. Daniel dressed as Santa. solo artist on a Sunday can really bring a good atmosphere to the room. It’s that little bit extra that makes the feel of your room a lot better.” DANIEL’S JOURNEY Daniel has worked at the Grove since he was 12, bagging ice in support of the local football clubs. By 16, he had left school to work full-time in the pub. “I actually finished year 10 and have the highest education in the family,” he boasted. “I did a little bit of front bar work before I was 18 but mainly in the bottle shop and then became a duty manager around 21.” Daniel abandoned ship to work as Duty Manager at The Lion for two years, much to his parents’ dismay, but they all now agree it was a masterstroke. “Doing something like that is the best thing you can do. You get experience from other people, you learn different ways to operate the hotel,” Daniel said. He returned to the family business in 2017, giving Allen and Gina a wellearned break from the front line. He takes great pride in their AHA|SA award won in 2009 for the Best Gaming Venue in Australia. “That was a big achievement for us, we had just finished a major renovation on the room, our first since gaming was introduced to South Australia.” And above all, he utilises the experience and knowledge of how to run a successful pub, chiselled out by Allen and Gina over nearly five decades’ of toil. “Dad’s a good honest publican, he’s the one that sits in the front bar and has a pint with the customers. “Mum’s the brains behind the business, the back office guru,” he said. FRIENDS AND FORTITUDE Gina is the first to admit having Peter Hurley in their corner has played no Mr Buzzy front man, Jesse Catalano, with the Cassin family at The Golden Grove Tavern. small part in their success. “He’s given us opportunities that we probably wouldn’t have had,” she said. “If we needed help financially, he was always there. I just can’t speak highly enough of Peter.” But she crystallised the Cassins’ recipe for success with this: “Just be prepared to work hard. “And work with your staff – they’re not working for you, you have to work with them. Don’t sit back in your chair and just crack the whip.” “A pub really is a 24-hour operation and you have to give it your all every day,” Daniel added. “It’s hard work but it’s really rewarding.” Oh, and another thing… employ a chef on Sundays. Back to Contents www.ahasa.asn.au | Hotel SA | 19
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Page 17: P U B L I C A N P R O F I L E Allen
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