Dan and Molly Middleton officially reopen Bethanga Hotel in honour their mother and former publican

Dan and Molly Middleton have taken over the pub in honour of their mother Kate Middleton and uncle Gary Paxton, the former publicans, who died 16 days apart in September last year.

The pub had been closed since Kate's death on September 28, but after four months of work to finalise the changeover, while grieving the huge losses in their family, Dan and Molly are ready to make their mark.

"I'm a plasterer by trade, so I would do a full day of plastering and then come out here and work," Dan said.

"We had ideas down the track to do this with mum, but it has come up a bit quicker.

"We're really trying to keep it the same because mum and uncle Gaz worked really hard on it.

"They made it such a good place and everyone knows it for the animals and the little petting zoo out the back.

"This is what they wanted from all their hard work they've put into the pub. Especially the fact that we've tried to do the same thing, I hope it makes them very proud.

"Mum absolutely adored it. She would walk in here and she'd have an ear to ear grin. Hopefully we can do the same.

"I couldn't be prouder of my sister. She's done a lot of work as well behind the scenes that nobody probably sees as much."

Molly worked alongside her mother at the pub before the birth of her daughter Ivy, 1, and is keen to carry it on.

"We're excited. It's been hard to grieve and try to start a business at the same time, but we've done really well and mum would be very proud," she said.

"She was a social worker for nearly 40 years, so this was completely different for her and she loved it.

"We've got our hands full, but that's what makes it fun. We'll get there."

Bethanga Hotel retained its nine previous staff and had a soft opening last week.

"We did that just to find the groove of everything and not to get swamped by so many people," Dan said.

"A lot of locals came in and supported us and then we decided to throw it on the socials and it's taken off from there.

"Bethanga Cricket Club has been unreal with their support and have been coming down for Thursday night dinners.

"Small countries towns need little pubs like this. It goes a long way."

Dan said the support outside Bethanga had also been immense with the venue booked out by Albury Football Club on Saturday, while his teammates at Jindera have also been behind him.

Bethanga Hotel will open five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday, with a plan to return to seven days.

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