As you can see, The Grace offered a myriad of interesting settings and backdrops. However, during the shoot, we started to hear rumours of a spooky, lesser known side of the place we so often hang at. We decided to ask co-owner Cath Fletcher a few questions about it, as well as about the pub in general and their plans for the future. Bottoms up!
LEE INSIDER: Hey Cath. When did you take over the Grace Darling?
Cath Fletcher: One serendipitous afternoon about 2 1/2 light years ago…
Can you tell us what it was like before you got your hands on it?
Like bending over at the alter of Blokedom....farts, darts and footy. Or as a stopover for 50 hens to lay an egg in your can after 12 Vodka Cruisers on a party bus.
Unless you’re into James Taylor high rotation, or the witticisms Triple MMM’s 7pm slot, this might not been the place for you. Also, it closed at 11pm on Saturdays. But I guess one mans sick is another mans sauce.
Tell us about the refurbishment. What was your vision?
We wanted to soup her up but not lose the everyman’s bar vibe. So we added custom-made wallpaper, a lick of paint, some re-upholstering, some dimming of lights, champagne on ice, a slip into something comfortable, a bit of make out music and away we went.
How long did the fit out take?
Renovation took a grueling three weeks of 24 hour building schedules. Pretty interesting times, especially when the apparitions and poltergeists started appearing.
Ah yes, we’ve heard rumours about the Grace being haunted…
Well Dan and his dog live in King Lake which necessitated more than one creepy sleep over with some pretty hairy out of body moments.
For example?
Pretty much like any self respecting B movie: draughts, flickering lights etc. And more than one (sober) witness saw a stool elevate and travel across the room. One night, one of the owners was pushed in the back while carrying the till upstairs. Another time, a bartender had a woman approach him in the cellar and disappear. Mostly, if you find yourself the last man standing with the unenviable job of locking up, it’s a pretty hair-raising experience.
That’s spooky. Let’s change the subject. You seem to have nailed the three major criteria for the modern pub, i.e. great bar, excellent kitchen and solid band room. The result is a place that is kind of everything to everyone. Was this an aim from the start?
Totally. Our aim was good food and service, without the stiffness or self-consciousness of fine dining. In other words, a cheerful spin on pub mainstays. One example is our chicken parma, which we overhauled and moved away from the usual stodginess. We also think it’s important to embrace seasonal, fresh and organic produce, as well as free range, cruelty-free meats.
Drinks wise, we’re about local wineries. The list is largely Victorian with an emphasis on small owner/growers. We also have a decent range of whisky and rum and good spirits all round.
An important direction was to support emerging, interesting and creative music with a salon style, small and intimate bandroom, which we book 4-5 nights a week with Paris Martine at the helm.
Basically, we feel if we’re offering a good night out in Collingwood, we might have come close to getting the balance right.
Your staff who are known about town for their style. Is this a hiring criteria?
I guess, kinda. It’s fair to say a hairy veneer is pretty irresistible. Especially when coupled with a few minutes of experience. We get the occasional sarcastic description, “pirate gypsy” of “gen y pricks” but seriously, despite a few naysayers, they’re a great bunch of loyal, vibrant, creative kids who’ve become like a big nice round bosom which you just wanna squeeze when you wake up in the morning.
Lastly, we hear the Grace Darling crew have a new place in the city. Tell us about it.
Yep... It’s called Strange Wolf and it’s in the basement on Strachan Lane in the city. It’s open five nights of the week from 6pm- 3am. There’s snacks in a jar, cocktails, beers, late night dancing (clothing optional ). Basically, it’s the back of a Sandman minus the Chiko Rolls. If this bars rockin’ you better come a knockin’!