When Jeremy Dyer first took over the Ōtoromiro Hotel in Canterbury, a regular patron of the historic pub made him a $1000 bet he and his wife would not last a year.

Dyer assumed this was because of a long string of owners bailing on the establishment.

After running the Governors Bay pub for 23 years, Dyer is finally handing over the keys to a new owner.

He said he bumped into the patron not long ago and reminded him of the bet he made him all those years ago. The man just laughed.

Dyer agreed it is fair to say he will not be getting that money.

He owned the pub with his wife Clare Neville-Dyer, who died in June after a 45-day battle with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia.

Christchurch resident Kartik Anand will take over the business on August 18, but Dyer will still own the building and land.

Anand feels a responsibility to continue the legacy the Dyers have left.

“They’ve always been the heart and soul of the business so we want to keep that going,” he said.

“As a fresh person, there will be bits and pieces (to change), but I don’t want to change the core of the business.

“I still want to run it as a beautiful countryside hotel where people can come, relax and enjoy their time.”

The hotel’s name will stay the same.

Dyer said it feels like the right time to bow out.

“My heart’s really not in it anymore without Clare.”

Dyer and Clare had been trying to sell the establishment for the past three years to finally retire. They were approached multiple times by motel operators. but wanted someone with experience in hospitality to take over.

“The accommodation side of it is a very small part of it, hospitality is the crux of our business,” he said.

Anand has more than a decade of experience in hospitality and already knows Lyttelton Harbour well, having owned the Diamond Harbour Cafe, Restaurant and Bar for seven years.

He sold the business earlier this year. He also runs The Lake House in Ashburton.

While operating the Diamond Harbour cafe he would often stop at the Ōtoromiro for a beer on the way home. After selling the business he wanted to continue operating in the area.

“The community in the Bays is very good, very supportive and I’ve been part of it for a long time, it’s something I want to carry on,” he said.

He expressed initial interest in buying the business about a year ago and renewed it soon after selling the Diamond Harbour cafe.

They came to a mutual agreement just one month before Clare’s diagnosis.

“It seems Clare’s been so cheated out of a well-deserved retirement,” said Dyer.

The establishment was built in 1870 and was originally home to the Ocean View Hotel before it was changed to the Smugglers Arms in 1980.

Under the couple’s ownership, it was called the Governors Bay Hotel until 2020, when they decided to adopt the Māori name for Governors Bay, Ōtoromiro.

Dyer and Clare purchased the establishment in 2003 while they were running a hotel in Queenscliff, Victoria.

The course of their lives was changed when his parents sent them a newspaper clipping, advertising the sale of a hotel in Governors Bay.

They flew to Christchurch the next week and purchased it within three days.

“It was an awesome decision. It felt right at the time and it still feels right now,” Dyer said.

“I’m just proud of the legacy we’ve left behind.”

The couple were two years short of becoming the longest serving publicans in the hotel’s 156-year history.

Dyer introduced the Clarebelle to the menu last week, a cocktail to honour his late wife. From each sale, $2 will be donated to NZ Blood Cancer to support others in their journeys.