Goliath has finally beaten David. The owners of a local family pub have admitted defeat after what they thought was victory against developers who want to replace it with a McDonalds.
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"We won the battle but not the war," Jenny Hunt said after the Sydney development company told them they must vacate the Chisholm Tavern after 30 years.
The company wants to put a McDonalds on the site but had been thwarted when the ACT government refused to sell a public toilet next to it. The presence of the toilet would block the McDonalds, the pub owners and the ACT government figured - wrongly, it now seems.
Despite the ACT government's refusal to sell the toilet, the developers want Jenny Hunt and her husband out.
"We've no comment at this moment," Jason Zagni of the property company, Ganellen, said (company slogan: "We're building a better future, together).
The pub owners are devastated. "We will be leaving in early May, we are a bit overwhelmed with working out the plan of attack to leave here after almost 30 years of operating," Jenny Hunt said.
"It's our 30th anniversary this year so I was hoping to make it to the 30th anniversary."
She thinks there a cultural difference between Sydney and Canberra when it comes to property development. "It's dog eat dog in Sydney," she said.
In Canberra, she feels there's a gentler attitude with more respect for places with a good family atmosphere which, she says, her pub has.
"We are deeply saddened we cannot continue to service you, however after years of fighting against McDonald's and also surviving covid, McDonald's have won," the pub owners said.
"We wish we could say our ending will be the beginning for another small business in Chisholm, sadly we can't.
"We will always remember the warmth, smiles of the beautiful people of Chisholm, Tuggeranong and Canberra. We are proud of what we established and supported in the community."
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Despite saying she and her husband have lost the war, she can't quite give up hope, even though she has no idea where salvation might come from.
In February, out of the blue, the ACT government seemingly came to the rescue when it blocked the sale of the toilet.
"Due to community concerns, I have not approved the sale of public land adjacent to Chisholm Tavern," Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said at the time.
Barely a month before, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal had approved the company's development application.
It all looked hopeful for the pub a month ago. "The community support was outstanding. We couldn't have done it without the community. We hope to be here for a few more years yet. That's the way that I think it should be," Jenny Hunt said at the time.
She still hopes that community support might somehow save the day.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
