Work continues on plans for Grand Hotel

THE new team behind the plans to significantly upgrade the Grand Hotel in Portarlington are working behind the scenes to keep the hotel’s renovation next year on track.
The Little Group – which also operates the Portarlington-Melbourne ferry – acquired the hotel in Newcombe Street in December 2019.
Experienced hotel operators Franco Biasuzzo and Mark Henderson are now running the Grand Hotel and introduced changes to food and beverage offering to take advantage of the products available on the Bellarine Peninsula, with more local wines and farm fresh local produce.
In March of this year, a major renovation for the hotel was expected to begin in early 2021.
The extensive renovation would take place across all areas of the hotel, and would include boutique accommodation and event spaces.
However, like many other hospitality operators, the Grand Hotel has again closed during the Stage 3 lockdown in effect across regional Victoria.
Mr Henderson and Mr Biasuzzo said they were not being idle despite the lack of customers during the first and now second lockdown.
On the hotel’s Facebook page, Mr Henderson thanked all the hotel’s customers for their support during the lockdown.
“A big shoutout to our team, who have been doing an outstanding job,” he said. “We’ll be doing a bit in the background for when we re-open.
“What I’m looking forward to when we get back in six weeks’ time is that we’ll actually be in spring, and we’ll be able to use our outdoor beer gardens a lot more often.”
“I’m looking forward and hoping these six weeks go really fast, because the list my wife is doing for me at home is getting longer and longer,” Mr Biasuzzo added. “Stay safe, and see you soon.”