Out with old, Inn with new

NICOLE GOURLEY/The Southland Times

FRESH APPROACH: John Palino from TV3's television show 'The Kitchen Job' talks to Strathern Inn manager Philip Hobbs about changes the Invercargill restaurant needs to make to bring in more business.

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The manager of an Invercargill restaurant hopes starring in a reality television show will help revive the business.

Experienced restaurateur John Palino and an Auckland film crew of eight are at the Strathern Inn this week to film an episode for the TV3 series The Kitchen Job.

The show – a New Zealand take on popular British chef Gordon Ramsay's television series Kitchen Nightmares – has Mr Palino saving restaurant and cafe owners from the brink of ruin.

Strathern Inn manager Philip Hobbs said he got involved after watching an episode of the show earlier this year.

"I said to my partner we need to go on that programme."

And they did.

"The Strath has stagnated a bit ... Pretty much it's (being on the show's) a way of trying to get this place back up and running." Mr Hobbs said.

Mr Palino said the restaurant had beautiful character because its history dated back to the 1800s.

Another interesting twist was that several ghosts were believed to haunt it, he said.

Apparently a 23-year-old woman called Nally who ran the inn in the 1800s was raped and murdered by two men on the stairs.

Her killers were hunted down and found hiding in the inn where they were shot on the spot.

Nally has been known to tap people on the shoulder as they walked up the stairs past where she died, he said.

The Strathern Inn's new look and menu will be unveiled at a launch tomorrow night. The episode featuring the restaurant is expected to screen later this year.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Terri   #2   03:26 pm May 08 2011

The murder and gun-battle is not made up at all, the Strathern Inn is very much haunted by Nally as well as another young girl. 20 years ago my parents owned this restaurant, and we had many experts in to confirm the restaurant is haunted up stairs.

Dr. Watson   #1   11:35 am Nov 10 2010

Interesting, you'd think that a terrible murder and gun-battle like that would show up in the papers and history books right? The Strath is cool enough as it is without making up history :)

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