Current owner and operator of the Brix Hotel, Peter Thomson, is very confident he will have the pub up-and-running before Easter, despite the poor condition he claims the pub was left in by its previous lessees.

“I want to make it definitively clear to everyone that we will be open come Easter,” Mr Thomson said.

“We have new chairs and tables, beer fridges, TVs all coming in this week.”   

The pub has been shut temporarily after the property owner was ordered to rectify the building following an inspection by the Northern Grampians Shire Council’s building department. 

The rectification in question was in regard to a wall that needed to be re-enforced.

“The wall is safe now. We’ve had the engineer come through and look at it, there’s no chance it’s falling on anyone,” Mr Thomson told the Stawell Times News.

Mr Thomson has been working on The Brix before its reopening after re-acquiring the property from its previous lessees, Marnie and Craig Rowden.

The two parties have been at odds regarding the state of the hotel following the changeover, with Mr Thomson claiming the Rowdens did not leave the pub in the condition they purchased it in.

The Rowdens disagree, stating they had complied with all agreements made between the two parties.

Speaking to the Stawell Times News, the Rowdens said they were entitled to take everything they removed, as per an agreement they had with Mr Thomson.

“The only thing (Mr Thomson) owned was the structure. We owned everything else,” Ms Rowden said.

“(Mr Thomson) had an opportunity to buy everything back and he declined, so we were well within our rights to take it.

“Our solicitor has it all in writing. We haven’t done anything wrong,” she said.