Beaufort River Roadhouse & Tavern (Perks by Burk)
Canford were engaged by Chris Cornelius & Konfir Kabo back in December 2020 to aid in the application for a tavern liquor licence at 18495 Albany Highway, Kojonup (Beaufort River). The process from initially speaking with Chris & Konfir, through to the approval of their tavern licence took approximately 8 months.
Being in WA’s South West region (see the proximity of the premises below in relation to the Perth CBD), there were not many competing outlets the applicant had to concern themselves with when putting together public interest submissions.
beaufort river tavern
The main issues faced were obtaining development approval, and gathering relevant witness evidence to use in the public interest submissions.
Previously, a ‘themed’ hospitality premises and lodgers used to exist on the premises. At the time Chris & Konfir entered into an agreement to take over, the premises was vacant. Given the intention to use the space as a tavern, a detailed Change of Use application was required to be lodged with the Shire of Woodanilling to permit ‘tavern’ as a use. This took some time, and the development application had to be advertised. Eventually it was approved, and we could proceed with the liquor licence application.
In assisting with the applicant’s public interest submissions, one of the main hurdles we came across was finding a relevant pool of persons to complete the witness questionnaire and provide objective evidence. Given that this tavern is part of a ‘roadhouse’ it does not exactly lend itself to one specific community in which you could naturally draw upon respondents. This was solved through a lengthy social media campaign via Facebook Groups themed around the South West of WA, and ‘Community Notice Board’ groups for country towns such as Katanning and Kojonup.
beaufort river tavern
Thankfully, these efforts presented a good amount of objective evidence to draw on and strongly finish the public interest submissions. It was clear that a new premises to dine out in the south west region was greatly sought after.
Thankfully, this application was approved by the Liquor Licensing Authority. As of a couple weeks ago the Beaufort River Roadhouse, or “Perks by Burk” is now open for business. We are appreciative to Chris and Konfir for engaging us to help get their tavern approved. It was a great opportunity and we look forward to seeing its success.
If you’re travelling along Albany Highway, either to the regions, or up to the city – make sure you stop in!