The latest owners of the Waterloo Hotel have been there for a while but it is now time to be on the other side of the bar. Grant Woolford and Tracy Bell-Woolford are the new landlords of the hotel, which has been an institution in the area since 1881. The couple took over about a week and a-half ago and the ownership had come around quickly, Mr Woolford said. He had been coming to the hotel since he was a kid. “We used to live up the hill and Mum and Dad would come down here for something to eat and we would tag along, play Space Invaders and wait for them to finish. I would have been about 12 then, so I have been coming here for some time.” ©Allied MediaWaterloo Hotel new owners Grant Woolford and Tracy Bell-Woolford at the bar. Photo: Peter McIntosh A self-employed electrician he had always joked with the previous owner about becoming the owner of the hotel. Then in December last year while fixing a light in the entrance to the hotel, he was approached by the owner and asked if he really wanted to be the new owner. He talked to his wife and they agreed maybe it was time for a change and something to do to prepare for retirement. His wife would continue working as a beauty therapist and would help out at the hotel when she could. They had about 14 staff, all retained from the previous owner, and the hotel was looking good. They had bought a couple of large televisions to show sport and were hoping to build it up as a sports bar. They had a loyal customer base, and some people had come from Mitchells, when it closed down, he said. The hotel would have long-time Dunedin band Sidewalk Sally performing this Saturday night. Mr Woolford joked he would not aim to be the hotel’s best customer.
