Parade Hotel keen to welcome back patrons after June storm saw roof partially ripped off popular watering hole

An iconic Bunbury pub which had its roof ripped off in a freak storm is still waiting on a permanent fix, but is busy welcoming patrons back both in the restaurant and hotel. The Parade Hotel was one of the major victims of the June 1 weather event which left a path of destruction across East Bunbury, Glen Iris and Picton. The Austral Parade institution was shut for 10 days in the immediate aftermath, with crews working to install a temporary roof over the five impacted accommodation rooms. While repair works are still in progress, the hotel has mostly returned to normal trade and owner Andrew Harris is keen to welcome the community back to the venue. “We’re open and trading just as always, so there is no difference” he said. “Our food and our craft beers from Old Coast Road Brewery are just as good as they’ve ever been.” The food and beverage operations at the venue were unimpacted by the storm, but there has been a temporary decrease in the number of rooms available for accommodation from 15 to 10. Mr Harris said there was a lot of work being done behind the scenes to get a new roof installed and the rooms repaired. “The engineering reports have been done — they’re just doing some finalisation of those,” he said. “But the builders don’t really want to start until the rain stops because it’ll be pointless if they start and a huge deluge comes down. They probably won’t start construction until September.” It is hoped all repair work will be completed by the end of the year, with the potential of extra rooms also being considered as part of the construction activity. While patronage figures were initially down following the reopening, the number of residents and visitors heading to the venue for a bite or a drink has bounced back in recent weeks.