The scaffolding around Royal Hotel Kew has officially come down after more than three months of construction.
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The hotel is undergoing extensive renovations under the watchful eyes of director Scott Coman, hotel advisor Lee-Ann Paige, builder Brad Baker and plumber Brent Baker.
The refurbishment has already yielded a few historical surprises with pennies found in cracked floorboards and newspapers dating back to 1925 unearthed in the walls, according to Mr Coman.
"We've found Sydney Morning Heralds from 1925 and we will frame them to have them in the bar. We have found a few old pennies stuck between the floorboards and the original back window of the hotel before it was extended," he said.
"We have finished the bar, installed a new tap, brass rail and cabinet. There is new furniture throughout the whole hotel, the beer garden will be a big part of the hotel and we are also opening a takeaway window for coffee and breakfast.
"We hope to have Sunday sessions in the beer garden and we're looking at holding events out on the grass like having an outdoor screen for kids movie nights. One of our first events will hopefully be Oktoberfest this year.
"We are sticking with the heritage theme of a country pub and going for a foodie venue. The chefs will play a pretty important role in the future of this hotel. We should be done in around five or six weeks for the start of October hopefully."
The building was originally known as 'The Stables' in 1891 and was owned by George Perkins, according to records published by the Kendall Heritage Society.
The hotel provided a vital changeover place for horses drawing coaches from Taree to Port Macquarie during the last 1800s. The last coach service left Taree northbound on February 31, 1913.
Lake Cathie residents Rick Rouland and Brett Mahoney said the hotel refurbishment had brought them back after many years.
"The outside is looking good, it looks very neat and tidy now. It was a bit rundown before but the the older style bar is pretty cool now," Mr Rouland said.
"We haven't been here in a long time but it's interesting to see what the new owners do. We'd come in now if they have a good feed, some live music from out of town acts."
The first beer was served at the hotel in October, 1894 after a liquor licence was granted in the same year.
Ownership was held by George Perkins and Mary Ann Adkins in 1895, it was extended and renovated in 1898 before being sold to Henry Forster.
The hotel was on-sold several times and later purchased by Mrs Eliza Greig in 1924.
A run of bad luck saw the hotel partially burnt in 1925, rebuilt in 1926, sold to Samuel Myer Mendelson in 1927 and burnt again in 1940.
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