Raising a glass to King O'Malley after 24 years

The Canberra Times

The beloved Canberra pub must be doing something right.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:06 What was it about King O'Malley that made you want to name the Royal Hub after him?

00:10 I think he was so influential in our history. He had a wonderful Irish name, O'Malley,

00:18 and he was involved in politics in our first parliament, the first Australian parliament,

00:24 so it couldn't be any other name.

00:26 And you wanted an Irish pub, specifically an Irish style pub.

00:30 What is it about it that you were telling me about that you went to an Irish pub in Shanghai

00:34 and you've seen them around the world. Why did you want to open a new cab?

00:39 I think it's a special place where everyone can come together.

00:42 It's traditional, it's comfortable, and it's welcoming.

00:46 It doesn't matter how old you are, what age you are, or which part of the world you come from,

00:50 you actually feel at home.

00:52 I visit many Irish pubs around the world and I have that same feeling.

00:57 Most of the ones you go into, you just feel comfortable and say I'm home.

01:01 This is really nice. If you feel a bit homesick or you want to meet friends, what a perfect place to be.

01:07 What is it that makes an Irish pub outside of Ireland an Irish pub, other than of course Guinness or Taffy?

01:14 Guinness is really important. I think it's the friendliness of the staff.

01:19 I think that's the real key. Also the patrons that are coming in.

01:23 It seems to attract people that are really nice.

01:27 They're very sociable. They want to have a good time, just enjoy themselves.

01:32 They enjoy listening to music and conversation.

01:38 One thing about King O'Malley is that it's really become part of the social fabric of Canberra.

01:43 There's a lot of social events and fundraisers and things like that.

01:47 Talk me through a little bit about how it's been better to be part of the Canberra community.

01:52 I like to think it's really an important part of Canberra's community now.

01:57 I'm a Canberran and I just love this city and all of the things that people do and achieve.

02:04 We're at the heart of it and we can celebrate with them.

02:07 Whether it's Floriade, the Multicultural Festival or all the wonderful charities that do amazing work in this city.

02:13 From Salvation Army, St Vinny's, there's such a list that goes on.

02:18 It also gives us the opportunity to, particularly with men, don't really look after their health.

02:24 To pay attention to it and say, "Look, it's not that hard. Go and get a skin check if you've got a little freckle or mole."

02:32 If you've got any other issues, whether it's health-wise or mental health-wise, just open up to people.

02:38 The resources are here. We're very fortunate in this city.

02:41 We've got a lot of support and the volunteers that work with all these organisations are just amazing.

02:46 I just feel that we're able to help anyone and many other businesses do.

02:50 We should and can. We've got a pub in the middle of the city with a lot of floor area and space.

02:56 Let's use it. We use it and open it for the street chess.

03:00 We've been doing that for 20 years and that's wonderful.

03:04 We've got language groups that come in. We've got different political groups, support persuasions come in.

03:08 People have a friendly debate and that's the really nice thing about it.

03:11 People have conversation and debates and all walk out as friends.

03:15 It's not easy running a business and I know you've had very symbiotic relationships with a lot of the businesses around,

03:22 like Chicken Gourmet, other pubs, do you see other used to be here?

03:26 What's made you such a stay-out? I mean, 24 years is not bad.

03:29 What's the secret to your success?

03:31 Look, I don't know. I've always been passionate about the business.

03:35 We've always tried to do the right thing by our customers, by our staff and our suppliers.

03:40 Be involved with the community, listen to the feedback that they give us.

03:45 I'm just so grateful to the many, many people that have given us advice to create King of Mallies.

03:52 It's not just me, there's a whole team behind it.

03:55 Friends, family, that's really what makes it. A whole lot of people in the community have truly made this.

04:02 So I feel a sign of a custodian for a little while.

04:05 When I read the stories about Irish pubs that have been in existence for hundreds of years,

04:09 and it's quite interesting, it starts off as the founder, and then there's the next person who has it,

04:14 and another person who's a tradition.

04:17 I worry about that. If I'm not here, it'll go to good hands.

04:23 People will honour King of Mallies and continue on and make this really part of Canberra's history.

04:29 Hopefully it'll stay here for a hundred years.

04:32 You were talking before, you do have a bit of a legacy with this,

04:35 you and your dad did have an ice cream shop here.

04:38 Absolutely. We did. It was called Pierre Glason Ice Cream.

04:43 I'd just finished uni, and my dad had actually started the first ice cream shop in River Place,

04:49 the Gelato Bar. He had another one in Monaro Mall, between David Jones and Coles at that time.

04:57 It was sort of the centre of activity there, and so many Canberrians would come in.

05:04 I think the favourite customer for his lemon sorbet was Margaret Whitlam.

05:09 It was just lovely. She'd pop a take-home pack in her bag on her way home.

05:15 It was just lovely. It was wonderful creating with Pierre Glason Ice Cream.

05:20 That was a different era. The cinemas were around this precinct,

05:24 and it was really the hub of the night-time activity.

05:27 We used to open seven days a week, where the shopping malls were closed at that time.

05:32 So it was very popular. Similar to Chicken Gourmet, which was next door.

05:37 We started Pierre Glason Ice Cream at the same time that Chicken Gourmet changed hands.

05:44 So we all did it together, and it's been a nice relationship with that business.

05:50 We've moved with the times, and I had a group of investors with me,

05:55 and we started King O'Malley's in 2000. It's been a good journey.

06:01 [no dialogue]

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