AS POPULATIONS of many country towns have declined, businesses have had to close and perhaps the saddest moment is when the local pub puts a closed sign on its door.
Fortunately for Bolgart, the locals were not willing to let that happen.
While this isn't the first community to come together and invest their funds into a local business, such as the pub, few have a vision that is as exciting as what is planned for the Bolgart Hotel.
While their plans might seem ambitious, a consortium of people from Bolgart and one or two from surrounding areas are passionate enough to make it happen, including the plan to establish a micro-brewery and cidery in conjunction with Funk Cider.
They want the pub to thrive again and return it to being the heart of the town and a destination where travellers look forward to stopping at for some tasty grub, a cold pint and overnight stay.
Bolgart farmers Paul Michael and Edward Ludemann are two of the more than 30 individual people (from 16 families/unit holders) who make up the syndicate that purchased the pub in early May.
They said the idea had been bouncing around for a while but became serious in February.
The hotel had been for sale for a few years and the locals were concerned as to what could happen to it, as there had been no interest for a long time and even if there was a buyer, what would their intentions be?
Would someone, likely from the city, be able to revive the business and be sustainable for the long-term?
And with the building being run down and needing a lot of work, it wouldn't be an easy investment for anyone to take on.
Once word got out that a group of locals were putting together a consortium of investors to purchase the pub, the support started flooding in.
"We had more people keen to be involved than we wanted and needed," Paul said.
"We had people coming from far and wide when they heard about what was happening, but we wanted to keep it local and have Bolgart people involved as much as we could.
"No one has any more than 10 per cent involvement in the syndicate, which ensures it is genuinely community owned and that no one individual can dominate.
"And it makes for more diversity in skills and backgrounds to help make it happen - for example we have two electricians, people with business backgrounds, I'm an ex-accountant and of course we have the cider and beer makers."
Call it convenience or luck but having two sons with a renowned WA craft cidery business comes in handy when you become a part pub owner and want to entice travellers out to the region.
Paul's sons Dustin and Martin Michael own Funk Cider and jumped at the chance to collaborate with the group.
"The Bolgart pub is our local, we grew up there so it just made sense and it fits into our business well," Dustin said.
"The local footy club and pub are the heart of country towns, so it's important to support them and keep them going."
Currently Funk Ciders are on tap at the Bolgart Hotel, which were installed by the Funk team that has also renewed other beer taps.
Dustin said he was pleased to hear that the pub goers were enjoying the local craft brews at the pub, with Funk Ciders already being more popular than the commercial tap beers.
The long-term plans for the Bolgart Hotel are big - or in some cases 'micro'.
Work on the pub is being carried out in three stages, ideally over about three years.
Stage one involves taking care of the most important thing - the beer taps of course, as well as updating the cool room, plumbing and the electrical work.
Stage two includes more electrical work, replacing the ablution block and staircase and refurbishing the accommodation, as well as rebuilding the verandah and front faade.
And stage three is when the real excitement happens, with Funk Cider building a microbrewery that uses locally-grown barley and meat sourced from the area.
"The long-term plan is to develop a pint to plate and paddock to plate concept with a focus on our local area," Paul said.
To help develop this plan he enlisted the help of another useful family member, this time his cousin Craig Wilkins, who is a chef, and his partner Wendy Stevenson.
The couple has decades of experience of running their own hospitality businesses, particularly in regional areas.
They were previously running the Beacon Country Club and moved down to Bolgart to take on the venture of being the Bolgart Hotel publicans/licensees.
"I want this place to become the best country pub in WA," Craig said.
"We have an emphasis on quality, so we pay a bit extra for the quality food that we buy and serve, but we have found that people are prepared to pay for that, compared to regular pub grub."
As well as quality food and brews, the group also plans to put on top entertainment.
And Craig hopes to draw on some of his country music contacts to put on similar events to one he held at Beacon that attracted more than 1200 people.
He even said that Adam Brand and Beccy Cole have expressed interest in performing in Bolgart.
The fun has actually already begun, with the pub holding its first event a couple of weeks ago.
It was quite the trifecta, held on the weekend of the western AFL derby; the pub hosted a Battle of the Taps between Funk Cider and Metricup's Beerfarm, with its first live band providing additional entertainment.
Dustin said the Battle of the Taps was a "a bit of fun and banter between mates" with the friendly rival microbrewery of the South West.
Funk and Beerfarm each took three taps and the winner was determined by how many litres went through each tap, which turned out to be a draw.
"We have already locked in a repeat tap battle to find out who are the winners once and for all, so stay tuned for that," Dustin said.
With the football derby being televised and some live tunes, coupled with the good vibes of the community-owned pub hosting its first event, there was plenty to celebrate.
Paul said having Funk Cider come on board will help to raise the profile of the venue, especially for tourists.
"It's a magnificent building; it's one of only six original railway hotels left in WA," he said.
"And it's on the wildflower route, so there is huge potential for us to capitalise on regional tourism."
Once the accommodation has been revamped, they are keen to promote the hotel as a great, affordable place to stay, with country accommodation being in high demand due to regional construction work and holiday makers keen to 'wander out yonder'.
The hotel has 10 rooms that the group aims to have available in a couple of months.
But having a place where locals can go, catch up with a mate over a good feed and a pint is the focus, with regional tourism being a long-term plan.
"We wanted to keep it open as a meeting place, particularly after the year we have been having in terms of the season, but also with the state of the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," Edward said.
The ripple effect has already been evident throughout the community, with Paul noticing more of a buzz around town as locals are excited to know what work is next to be done on the building.
More people wandering around the town will likely lead to them spending money at other businesses, thereby boosting the local area's economy.
Already having five nearly full-time employees, the group is keen to employ more staff in due course to eventually have 10-12 employees.
"We also don't want to compete with existing operators, because we all know how difficult business can be and they all have their special niche," Paul said.
"There are so many great pubs in regional WA, including some near us and we want to create synergy with them.
"We can all offer something different but also recommend to our customers that they try out nearby pubs around the region as they travel through."