General News
1 May, 2026
Last drinks called for Talbot pub owners
The Court House Hotel’s Reiny Gunther and Barry Ross have sold the business after a decade of operating Talbot’s “community hub” for locals.
Talbot’s Court House Hotel will soon see new operators after Reiny Gunther and Barry Ross recently sold the business.
The pair have been the historic hotel’s operators for the past decade, earning their place amongst the most familiar faces in the country township.
An all too familiar sight, whether there’s customers or not, is Mr Gunther on one side of the bar and Mr Ross on the other.
That’s the image of a pair who likely spent more time together over the last decade than anyone else in their life.
Between them they’ve taken very few days off, except for their health, in a job that demands work weekdays and weekends.
“It was a labour of love,” Mr Ross said
That’s love for the locals and love for the “community hub” that brings them all together — the Court House Hotel.
When Mr Ross moved to Talbot, first as a weekender in 2000 and then fulltime in 2014, the pub was his way to meet people.
He said his wife would ask him why he’d go to the pub when he didn’t know anyone. His reply?
“It won’t take me long I’m a pretty good talker,” he said.
Among those he met was Mr Gunther who had a local history of his own.
He owned the Court House Hotel from 1975 to 1980.
Little did he realise he’d own the business again, alongside Mr Ross, after a conversation at the pub.
According to the pair, the owner had a bad run of operators and planned on closing it.
“We started talking and thought we could do better than this,” Mr Ross said.
He also thought they must have been the “two silliest in the pub at the time” but they wanted to save it.
Between them they struck the winning formula.
“A good meal, a good beer, and a fair price. They’re the three things you need and you’ll get people,” Mr Ross said.
Although, Mr Gunther added being a part of the community was important.
“They call me the unofficial mayor of Talbot,” he said.
That’s because there’s little in Talbot he hasn’t been involved in, both in sports and local advocacy, which he brought to the business.
They often run fundraisers for local organisations or people in need, as they are still, as a way to give back.
“It’s our way of saying goodbye and thank you,” Mr Ross said.
“We want to thank all of our patrons who are not our patrons anymore, they’re our friends.”
However, with both men past retirement age, they’re ready to spend more time with their families and less time working.
This became clear for Mr Ross in 2024 when he had a heart attack, and would have died, if not for the life-saving actions of a friend and customer.
“Enough is enough,” he said.
Mr Gunther said the community’s response to the news has been “tremendous”, but they won’t be strangers, both agreeing to continue visiting the pub as patrons.
“We’re just really grateful to the community. They’ve been really good to us, there’s no question there,” he said.
“We just want to thank everybody that comes in here.”
The pair are expecting to have their last day as operators some time in May.