After reopening The Peninsula Hotel in memory of his best mate and the Laura pub’s previous owner, Stuart Wiggins is now ready to pass on the reins to the next capable publican. Photo: Supplied.
When Stuart Wiggins took on running The Peninsula Hotel in Laura, all he wanted to do was honour his best mate.
The iconic watering hotel has been a must-visit venue for locals and tourists for decades. But it closed its doors in early 2023 after the death of former owner and publican Kev “Stumpy” Darmody.
With plenty of elbow grease, Stuart reopened those doors 12 months later. Now, with the pub and campground back in their glory, he’s done what he set out to do and is ready to hand over the reins to its next owner.
“Things were going pear-shaped – the town had no pub, no food,” he said.
“He was my best mate and I know all the work Kev put into the pub. If it had waited another year, I reckon it probably would never have opened again.
“My goal was to come up here and keep his little legacy going. I feel like I’ve achieved that.”
Since taking over the venue, Stuart has been splitting his time between Laura and Canberra, where he moved from to take on the job, and where his family is based.
Now, after losing a few family members and his parents getting older, he needs to be back in Canberra more than ever.
“When I drive out [from the nation’s capital], I have to leave my son, my lady, my family and my dogs, go three-and-a-half thousand kilometres away and say I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” he said.
“If my family could come up, I’d love to do another three or four years. Unfortunately, they can’t. They’ve got their own jobs.
“It wasn’t a long-term thing for me; I just couldn’t sit back and let it go to ruin because I’ve been coming up here for 20 years helping Kev. I’ve got a beautiful bunch of locals that are like family to me.”
Stuart said the pub provided an idyllic, relaxed atmosphere and wasn’t too difficult to run.
“If you’ve got good hospitality, cold beer, nice food and clean amenities … that’s the four ingredients and you can’t go wrong,” he said.
“I’ve been in hospitality 40 years. I’ve had restaurants where I’ve had 30 staff and it was pretty full-on. But this one, everyone that walks in the door is just in a happy mood because they’re all on holiday.
“Honestly, if someone comes in and goes `look, I’ve never done this before but I’d love to have a crack’, I’d stay on for a couple of months or even longer until they meet everyone and I can show them how it’s run.”
If you’ve ever wanted to be a pub owner or for more information, get in touch at: [email protected]
