Patrons celebrate the anniversary in the Bar.
80 th Anniversary BRIEN FAMILY CELEBRATES 80 YEARS AT THE ALBERTON WORDS: JOSH TEAKLE
For the last 55 years Peter Brien Jr has cherished every day’s work behind the bar at the Alberton Hotel. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his family’s legacy at the 172-year-old pub in the heart of “the Port”.
of a fourth generation to keep the pub in the family for years to come… no pressure attached of course.
In September the Brien family celebrated their 80th year at the hotel after Peter Jr’s father, Peter Snr, started pouring beers behind its bar in 1940.
Despite never living further than a few kilometres away from the hotel – including 41 years in the family home upstairs – and only ever working the one job, Peter Jr said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
While Peter Jr, 74, still operates as the licensee and stops by every day to meet the old and the new that wander through the front bar, the management of his beloved Alberton Hotel has been handed over to the next generation, with children Matt and Rebecca running daily operations. The Brien’s eight decades at the Alberton Hotel rivals some of the longest pub tenures in the State. Now with his three grandchildren (8, 11 and 14 years old) chipping in by re-turning glasses and plates to the kitchen, Peter Jr is holding out hope 20 | Hotel SA | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U
UNIVERSITY OF LIFE
“I have always said there are two types of people ‘those who live at the Port, and those who wish they did’,” he said. “I have never even dreamed of doing anything else. “Pubs are a gathering place and are inclusive of everyone in the community. “You learn so much at the local pub, it’s almost like a university – I never went to uni but you learn as much in a pub as you do at Back to Contents
