Red Grannys, Wood-fired pizzas, a camel with her own social media presence, these are some of the characteristics that have made a nearly 120-year-old hotel, located more than an hour north of Adelaide, popular amongst locals and visitors.
Words and Photos: Jarrad Delaney
From the outside the local hotel in the small town of Owen may seem like your typical country pub, but after entering through the front door and seeing what it truly has in store you realise it is much more than that.
The Owen Arms Hotel has been a part of the local community since 1905, when it was established by Walter Robert Standley as the Wooroora Hotel, and then later the Hotel Standley.
Cathy and Ian ‘Space’ Gregory are the modern day owners of the Owen Arms Hotel, and in November will celebrate 22 years of managing this popular watering hole.
The Gregorys have truly kept this hotel in the family, having taken over from Cathy’s parents Carol and Toly Borissow who managed it for 11 years and from the beginning had been helped by their children, Teagan and Mitchell, who were 9 and 12 when they started.
Cathy said the past nearly 22 years the hotel had opened its doors for many different gatherings as Owen, with its population of about 300 people, had turned to them for many different events, and even times of emergency.
“We’ve had over the years may wakes, had baby showers, times of stress like the Pinery fire when everyone was in front of the pub with their birds, cats, dogs wondering what to do, waiting for news,” she said.
Another unexpected event would force the hotel to change how it did things, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought Australia to a stand-still in 2020.
Like many businesses across the country, Owen Arms had to adapt in how it did business and how it served the public.
“Covid was the biggest challenge in our 21 years, but we flipped it pretty well, we did as much as we could online to keep our customers engaged,” Cathy said.
“We continued social club draws and sold whatever we could as takeaways and take home meals.
The hotel has built a reputation on the meals it cooks up, especially its pizzas cooked in a wood oven out the back that the Gregorys built themselves out of stone from the old stable ruins.
For the past decade the pizzas have been a hit every Wednesday night, with Cathy stating they sell about 100 every Wednesday.
She said meals had become an even bigger part of the hotel’s business post-Covid, a noticeable change in recent years.
“Since Covid we’ve extended our hours and across the board we’re hitting 500 to 600 meals per week, which is huge for a little town,” she said.
The hotel is open for dinner Monday to Saturday, and for lunch Wednesday to Sunday.
As well as offering tasty pizzas and other meals, the hotel has also branched out in distilling their own beverage with the launch of Red Granny Vodka late last year.
After Space and his son Mitchell did a university course to learn distilling, they learned more about the craft from other sources and created their own still piece by piece.
Their vodka has enjoyed some success, and has seen distribution at pubs in areas including Freeling, Sevenhill, Saddleworth, Wasleys, Balaklava, Mallala, Port Wakefield, Truro and Tarlee.
While the Owen Arms may be known as a place to come and enjoy a meal, and a drink or two, there is one resident who has become a local celebrity, who shares a name with a famous pop star.
The hotel’s resident camel Fergie (named after the popstar of Black Eyed Peas fame, famous for hits like ‘My Humps’ … get it?) can often be seen poking her head up over the back fence, greeting guests who may snap a photo, or even feed her a carrot or two.
Cathy said Fergie had been a big part of the hotel since she was a calf.
“We got her as a little baby, she had to be fed animal milk,” she said.
“Right after Pinery we thought it would be something to put a smile on people’s faces.”
Fergie has certainly put smiles on people’s faces, and has become so popular that she even has her own Instagram page @fergiethecamel, where she has 545 followers as of the end of July.
Cathy said Fergie has truly added to the enjoyment of people who come to visit the hotel.
“People visit her all the time, feed her carrots, and one bloke brings in 20kg bags of carrots all the time,” she said.
“If the band is on, she dances up and down the fence.”
Fergie is just one part of what contributes to the Owen Arms being a “family orientated” venue.
Cathy said they regularly hosted birthday and Christmas parties, with families and people of all ages enjoying some great times on the premises.
In and around the hotel, there has been great change over the years as the area around the First Street/Railway Terrace intersection has really come alive thanks to the hotel as well as surrounding businesses like Steamy Beanz, HeART of the Plains and the Owen Emporium, as well as the nearby silo art catching the eyes of motorists passing through.
To further accommodate people for events and social gatherings, the hotel has updated its underground room which now includes an 8-ball table, large TV and couches, and has turned into a private function room for groups to enjoy.
No matter how much the hotel has changed, or how much the town has changed, for Cathy and the family what has never changed is the enjoyment managing the Owen Arms Hotel, and being a part of the Owen community, has brought.
“It’s more of a lifestyle, not really a job, you just live it because we live on premises, my Mum and Dad lived here, my kids lived here, we just live it,” she said.
“Owen is a very community-minded place, there’s no better place to have a hotel.”
So next time you find yourself in Owen, why not stop by the local hotel and experience the hospitality and atmosphere for yourself. You are sure to be welcomed with ‘Owen Arms’.
