Goldfields Hospitality Group (GHG) has officially launched with a focus on promoting and improving tourism and hospitality options in regional Victoria.
GHG is the project of local hoteliers Martin Shew and David Cook-Doulton of Hotel Vera in Ballarat and Hotel Ernest in Bendigo alongside local restaurateurs Peter Barton and Tim Foster.
The announcement came at a Victorian tourism industry event last week, where GHG shared its plans to develop a portfolio of regional Victorian venues under support from Tourism Midwest Victoria.
“All of these operations will be located in regional Victoria, providing increased job opportunities and premier dining experience for people in regional Victoria,” explains Foster.
“The business will focus on drawing visitors (from interstate and international) to the area and providing state of the art dining opportunities in regional areas.”
GHG will work with regional training organisations to organise staff training programs across regional hospitality businesses and also has plans to launch a tech platform for sharing staff across the industry.
The first venue in the GHG portfolio is Babae at Hotel Vera in Ballarat which opened in January.
The 26-seat eatery serves a seasonal menu for daily breakfast service, and for select dinner and lunch services.
“Babae offers an intimate, fine dining experience with a menu that champions the region’s growers and producers, augmented by produce our own 25-acre garden,” says Foster.
GHG’s next opening will be Terrae at Hotel Ernest in Bendigo which is slated to open in Autumn.
The GHG portfolio will continue to expand initially focusing on Ballarat and Bendigo before reaching other areas of regional Victoria.
“The Group will encompass additional hotels, rooftop bars, Asian street food restaurants, boutique wellness retreat, and also extend to organic and indigenous gardens initially in Ballarat and Bendigo,” continues Foster.
More information is expected to be released at goldfieldshospitality.com.au.