News
17 February, 2022
Kilcoy Exchange Hotel wins national award
THE Kilcoy Exchange Hotel gained national recognition as the hotel won the Best Bar Presentation and Service Regional award at the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) National Awards for Excellence.
The award winners for 2021 were named at an awards presentation dinner at Princes Wharf No. 1 in Hobart on Monday, February 7.
This came after the Kilcoy Exchange Hotel was judged Queensland’s Best Regional Bar at the Queensland Hotels Association awards last year, which put the Kilcoy hotel in the running for the AHA National Awards for Excellence.
Kilcoy Exchange Hotel venue manager Keith Jackson said winning the national award was “huge” and “a big accolade for us”, with the region now known for the hotel’s award win in addition to the abattoir and the Somerset Dam.
“We pride ourselves on employing a lot of local people,” Mr Jackson said.
Mr Jackson said a lot of local juniors had their first job at the Kilcoy Exchange Hotel, and that it was a big thing for them to be part of the award wins.
“It’s not just the owners and managers’ ideas, it’s the hard work of all the staff from top to bottom,” he said.
Mr Jackson also praised the clients, saying “customers have been awesome” and that the local police had been very supportive.
“They’ve supported us and we’ve supported them,” he said.
Mr Jackson said the staff and management had continually tried to improve the presentation of the venue as new accommodation, painting, new taps and refitting the bar were among the changes in the past couple of years.
The installation of a gas and wood fired pizza oven was another notable change in late 2021.
With the hotel having hosted a woodchopping event on Australia Day this year, Mr Jackson said there was much more to come.
Mr Jackson said upcoming events included a Sportsman’s Lunch on June 3, and Fred Brophy’s Boxing Troupe on the nights of June 3 and 4, while there was also a Kilcoy race meet on June 4.
