NEW LIFE FOR NORVILLE
JUST under six months since it shut its doors, the historic Norville Hotel is back in action.
Known as the faces behind Squealing Pig Farm and the much-loved smoker pit catering service The Wofty Possum, Jason Bartholomew and Grace Lindsay have taken over the Norville, and they’ve got big plans to have the hotel fully operational by the time Carnival of Flowers rolls around in September.
matthew.newton@thechronicle.com.au
BETTER-KNOWN as the faces behind smoker pit catering service The Wofty Possum, or their farming enterprise Squealing Pig Farm, Jason Bartholomew and Grace Lindsay have taken on a new challenge – running the Norville Hotel.
But the road to taking over the pub from the Anderson family hasn’t exactly been straight forward.
First, COVID-19 hit, and an almost full-up year of weekend bookings for The Wofty Possum disappeared overnight.
They bounced back, getting council approval to set up shop on the corner of Ruthven St and Chalk Dr.
But Toowoomba’s appetite for smoked meat kept growing.
“The more we cook, the more they eat,” Ms Lindsay said.
“What we’re doing at the moment (on Chalk Dr), there’s no room for expansion,” Mr Bartholomew said.
Then roughly a month ago, they realised the Norville Hotel, with its huge beer garden back area, was available. They leapt at the chance. “We need this kind of facility so people can come and experience what we can do here,” Mr Bartholomew said.
From Saturday, The Wofty Possum will be moved to the rear of the Norville Hotel where on weekends they’ll offer Texas-style BBQ platters, with seating available and takeaway options.
From there the staged plan is to turn the beer garden into a dog-friendly urban cafe, so people can sit down and enjoy a quiet coffee and food, Ms Lindsay explained.
Within six to eight weeks they plan to have another two custom-built 6m long smokers installed out the back.
And by the time Carnival of Flowers rolls around they are hoping to have a steakhouse restaurant operating inside in the original bar area, while the front room will be converted into a cocktail lounge.
The couple have a lot of work to do, but they’re both excited for their new adventure.
matthew.newton@thechronicle.com.au