Undera Hotel & Motel is up and running

By Djembe Archibald

Jan 19, 2024

Open for business: Undera Hotel and Motel owner Brett Gilbert. Photo by Megan Fisher

Some people are not very good at retiring, and Tatura’s Brett Gilbert is a shining example of that.

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He moved to Tatura to retire but is now the owner of the Undera Hotel and Motel, cutting the ribbon early last month.

“I have no idea what it was that made me buy it,” Mr Gilbert said.

“This is our first venture into pubs.

“I was working with another business that I own, and I was always travelling all around Australia doing engineering in hospitals, and then we moved to Tatura with our family.”

The pub opened on December 1, 2023, and Mr Gilbert said the customers have been very responsive to the reopening of the business.

“It’s been a whirlwind ride and the support of the locals here has been unbelievable,” he said.

“These people come here as a hub, as a family and they come for dinner every night.”

Cheers: Undera Hotel and Motel finally opens. Photo by Megan Fisher

Mr Gilbert has plans to increase business hours and add to the pub’s amenities.

“The previous owner operated from Wednesday to Sunday, so I said, ‘Fantastic, I can run my other business and then I can work Wednesday to Sunday, and this will be an easy life’,” he said.

“I came in here, and I found that the locals don’t want Wednesday to Sunday; they want 24/7.

“They love the pub, they love it as a community hub so we changed our model and now we are open seven days a week.”

Rest and relax: The pub has a bar, dining and lounge area. Photo by Megan Fisher

As well as being a seven-day-a-week business, Mr Gilbert is hoping to broaden his new establishment’s dining options.

“We do dinners from Wednesday to Sunday, and we are looking at taking that further to lunches from Wednesday to Sunday as well,” Mr Gilbert said.

“We are also looking at a cafe to be part of the pub called The Stables Cafe, which will come in probably in February, and it will have breakfast on Saturday and Sunday and then also coffee Monday to Friday.”

Welcome in: The pub is open for dinner and drinks. Photo by Megan Fisher

Local produce for local people is a core value he wants to engrave in the fabric of his new business, with the chef buying produce from orchards and farms in the area.

Despite exciting ventures in the future, Mr Gilbert is mainly grateful for the support the pub is receiving currently.

“We had around 200 odd people here and you couldn’t move in this place on opening day,” Mr Gilbert said.

“It was crazy and they haven’t gone away ‒ they still support us people coming back in regularly.”