When Gerry Hunter first caught wind the Neville Hotel may be re-opening, it was music to her ears.
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The pub sat closed for four long years and being a resident of the small Central West town herself, she knew just what having their local back would mean.
"The pub makes the town. You lose the pub you lose that community heart," she said.
"Everybody in the community including myself had our fingers crossed that someone was going to open it as a pub again."
That rumour turned out to be true, with Sydney builders Joe Bishop and Luke Symonds taking over as new owners.
"The good thing about the boys buying it, they don't want it to be any la-di-da wine bar, they just want it to be a fair dinkum country pub," Mrs Hunter added.
The only people happier than the Neville residents themselves were the new owners upon hearing they had an experienced pub manager in Mrs Hunter right under their noses.
"Someone dobbed us in," she joked.
Having most recently run the Carcoar Hotel alongside her husband, Mrs Hunter has many years in the pub game under her belt.
This included a stint at the Neville just over a decade ago.
So when Mrs Hunter was asked at the end of September to be the new licensee, she couldn't give any other answer but a resounding "yes".
"I've got a soft spot for this hotel," she added.
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"I know all the locals and they know me because I've worked in every pub and club in the district."
With a lot still to be done before the grand re-opening on November 10, Mrs Hunter is hard at work to make sure it lives up to the hype.
When asked what people could expect from the pub, Mrs Hunter said they would have the "best cold beer in the district."
"You've got to have good beer. That's the number one before you open the door. Good clear lines, cold glasses and cold beer."
But a pub needs more than one or two people to make it sing.
That's why Mrs Hunter brought across "a lot" of her staff from the Carcoar Hotel.
"I'm looking forward to doing something for the community and getting the team back together," she said.
With the opening of the pub to coincide with the Neville Show, everyone is expecting a busy few days to kick things off.
"There's a buzz in Neville at the moment," Mrs Hunter added.
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