Community
20 June, 2025
Transitional period for Darlington Pub
THE Elephant Bridge Hotel will be changing hands after the recent publicans stepped away.
A statement was made by the current publicans on social media after the pub closed last Thursday.
“It is with a heavy heart I have to announce that the Elephant Bridge Hotel will be closed, and we will no longer be your publicans,” the statement read.
“I cannot disclose details as to why, but I can assure you all it was not our decision.
“We have loved serving everyone over the last 15 months and had hoped it would be for many more years to come.
“Unfortunately, another small town has lost its pub.
“Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable rest of 2025 – it’s not goodbye, it’s ‘I’ll see you later and drive safe’.”
The statement saw many reflections on previous visits to the pub, but the post his since been removed.
Elephant Bridge Hotel has been through three changes of publicans over recent years.
Pub owner Charlie Mann said the previous tenants had done an “excellent” job running the business, but they had moved on to another pub.
“The previous tenants did an excellent job – they ran a good pub and a good kitchen, and they were nice people – but the state of Victoria caught up to them a bit,” he said.
“With all of those topics in mind, we decided to make a move and get some new people in and freshen it up.
“Our tenants are moving on elsewhere – we want to keep the doors open for the public.
“We just ensured we got the pub back as fast as we could and got it back in the hands of some locals who are going to lease it out.
“At this stage, it looks like the pub should be back open within the next two-to-three weeks.”
Mr Mann said he hoped the new tenants would run the pub like a traditional country pub.
“We just want them to run a nice, simple country pub – no tricks,” he said.
“Go have a nice beer, glass of wine and a nice feed at a nice price so people can enjoy it.
“Because they’re familiar with the place, hopefully it’ll be a smooth transition and work well for them.”
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