After years in the construction industry, the pull of the pub was too much to ignore for Irish-born Liam Ganley. The construction project manager-turned-publican started small with his first venue in Collingwood before going all-in on his St Kilda boozer The Fifth Province. Fast forward to now and Ganley has built a portfolio of refurbed, refreshed and revitalised venues, each with its own story to tell – and each with a certain delicious stout on tap.
How did you get your start, Liam?
With a little café in Collingwood. I had no hospitality experience whatsoever, but I had plenty of construction experience and had always loved great buildings and well-designed spaces. We were fortunate enough to have the café designed by John Wardle Architects, with the branding by Projects of Imagination, and seeing how architecture, design and hospitality could come together really sparked something in me.
Not long after, I came across the old St Kilda Railway Station, which became The Fifth Province. That was the real beginning. It wasn’t just about opening a pub, it was about restoring a piece of Melbourne’s history and creating somewhere people genuinely wanted to spend time.
From there, things just evolved. I love pubs, but I also love designing and building them, especially in heritage buildings with a story to tell. We’re losing too many great old pubs, and I think they deserve to be preserved. If we can restore them, give them a new lease on life and ensure they remain pillars of their communities for another hundred years, then I think we’ve done something worthwhile.
What do you think it is about your venues that has gained traction in Melbourne?
I think people can tell when a venue has been created with genuine care. We don’t build venues from a spreadsheet. We invest heavily in our buildings and interiors, employ skilled artisan trades and never cut corners. We always start with the building. Most of our venues are beautiful heritage properties with incredible stories, and our job is to restore them, respect them and make them relevant again.
I also think there’s an Irish influence that runs through everything we do. Irish pubs evolved in a cold, wet climate, so they’re designed to feel warm, welcoming and comfortable. Lots of timber, rich colours, open fires, cosy corners and intimate spaces that make you want to settle in for hours. I’ve always tried to blend that warmth with the character of the traditional Australian pub, and I think the two complement each other beautifully, especially during Melbourne’s long winters.
More than anything, it’s about hospitality. In Ireland, if someone walks into your home, they’re looked after. They’re fed, they’re watered, and they’re made to feel welcome. That’s the philosophy we’ve always tried to bring into our venues. We want guests to feel less like customers and more like they’re being welcomed into our home.
We’ve never really chased trends. We try to create places that feel like they’ve always belonged there, somewhere you can have a quiet pint on a Tuesday, celebrate a wedding on a Saturday, or listen to live music on a Sunday afternoon. If a venue becomes part of people’s lives rather than somewhere they visit once for Instagram, I think you’ve done something right.
Is there any other special sauce to what you do?
I don’t think there’s any special sauce, to be honest. It’s actually the opposite. It’s the boring repetition of constantly getting the little things right. The one-percenters.
Most of the things that make a great venue are subconscious. Guests don’t necessarily notice them individually, but when they’re all done well, they create an atmosphere that feels warm, relaxed and effortless. It’s the friendly hello when you walk through the door, the perfect temperature inside, warm lighting, a perfectly poured pint, a bespoke coaster, a foot rail in exactly the right place, a bag hook where you need it, acoustics that let you have a conversation while still enjoying the music, and a quality sound system that fills the room without overwhelming it.
Most people won’t consciously notice any of those things. But they’ll definitely remember the pub that’s too bright, too cold, too noisy, where you have to shout across the table just to have a conversation, and nothing quite feels comfortable.
For me, that’s hospitality. It’s sweating the small stuff so the guest never has to think about it. That’s what creates places people keep coming back to.
Any regrets?
Loads. Far too many to list here.
I’ve missed opportunities, made plenty of mistakes and definitely made my fair share of naïve decisions along the way. But every one of them has taught me something. Hospitality has a way of keeping you humble – you never stop learning, and that’s probably one of the reasons I still love it.
What about the big lessons learned?
Hire slow, fire fast. It’s probably the best lesson I’ve learned in business and one I spent years doing the opposite of.
Take your time to find the right people. Skills can be taught, but attitude and values are much harder to change. Equally, when you know someone isn’t the right fit, deal with it quickly. It’s better for the business, the team and, ultimately, for that person too.
What’s been the key to scaling up successfully for you?
For me, it’s been about building the right team and trusting them. There comes a point where you simply can’t do everything yourself, and if you try, you’ll become the bottleneck.
I’ve been fortunate to surround myself with some incredible people who are better than me in their own fields, and giving them ownership has been one of the biggest reasons we’ve been able to grow.
Times are tough right now. How are you adapting?
There’s an old saying: Mind the pennies and the pounds will mind themselves. I think that’s especially true in hospitality today. You need to know your numbers inside out, and everyone in the business needs to own them, not just the finance team.
We’ve introduced bonus schemes across the business that reward our teams for hitting their KPIs, and that’s been a real game-changer. When everyone understands the targets and shares in the success, they care more about the outcome.
You have to run an efficient operation and negotiate the best deals you can with suppliers, but that’s only half the equation. The biggest driver of any hospitality business will always be sales. To keep people coming through the door, you have to keep evolving, improving your product, refreshing the experience and giving customers a reason to come back. You can only cut costs so far; real success comes from building venues that people genuinely want to visit again and again.
Any advice for other operators who are hurting?
Don’t panic, and don’t lose sight of who you are. When times get tough, it’s easy to start discounting, cutting corners or trying to be everything to everyone. I think that’s a mistake.
I’ve always believed you have to speculate to accumulate. You have to spend money to make money, and that doesn’t necessarily mean spending millions. Sometimes it’s the small investments that have the biggest impact. Lean on your suppliers and partners, refresh your venue, update your menu, improve your beer garden or create a new reason for people to visit. Keep giving your regulars something to get excited about.
I think once you start cutting corners and taking shortcuts, it’s a slippery slope.
Who do you look to in Victoria for inspiration? Which venues and people set the bar for you?
For me, there’s no question that Andrew McConnell and the Trader House team set the bar.
There’s no cookie-cutter approach. Every venue has its own identity and personality, yet they all share the same incredible attention to detail, effortless service and consistently outstanding food. That’s a very difficult balance to achieve.
I’m a regular across a lot of their venues, and I just keep coming back.
Best-case scenario, how do you want people to think about what you do?
I simply want people to know that we care. We care about the details, we respect the buildings we’re lucky enough to look after, and we genuinely love pubs and restaurants.
I’d love people to be excited when they hear we’re opening a new venue because they know it’ll be done with care, respect and attention to detail. If people think of us as passionate custodians of great venues, I’d be pretty proud of that.
Find out more about Ganley Group’s portfolio of venues here. Follow along for more at @ganleygroup.