“First and foremost, maybe the headline should be, ‘the chicken salad is staying’,” new Fat Sally’s Pub and Restaurant owner Tyler Burgess says.

While Ōamaru business woman Sally-Ann Donnelly has handed over the keys of the pub to Tyler and his partner Kristin Murdoch on Monday, the signature Sal Royale is going nowhere.

“She's created so much momentum, we don’t seem to think that we need to change the menu, or anything like that at the moment.”

The new owners have moved from Twizel, but both are familiar with Ōamaru. 

Kristin was “born and bred here”, while Tyler, who has played 100 matches for the Citizens Shield-winning Kurow team, will also be a familiar face, especially to North Otago rugby fans.

Tyler had worked at his family’s hospitality business in Twizel for nine years, and was the general manager for five. He had always dreamed of owning his own pub, and Kristin supported that dream.

“She’s taken the plunge with me, and we’re getting stuck into it,” he said. 

Tyler said it was “an honour” to be taking over the pub Sally-Ann bought 18 years ago, and following in her footsteps. He was nervous about filling the “very big shoes” she was leaving behind.

“Being around her, and seeing her having her leaving party on Saturday night, really the amount of community-oriented stuff she’s done . . . When my family went into hospitality, we bought a pub, done it up, made it look pretty cool. But here, it’s like we’ve bought an institution.”

Tyler moved down last Thursday (December 15) and is living above the pub. Kristin will join him at the end of the week, when she finishes her job in Twizel. The pub opened under the new owners on Tuesday (December 20).

There are no major changes in the pipeline - the 11 staff are staying, and the name will remain. Tyler was looking forward to being part of a “close-knit” team.

“We’ve got lots of wee ideas, but nothing massive. We’re not going to put a bomb up it. There will be plenty of plans in the future, we’ve just got to breathe first, I think,” he said.

“We’re just going to look to provide a bit more entertainment, and chase that late-night dollar.”

He intended to keep playing rugby for Kurow in his spare time, and was looking forward to spending more time with his two young children from a previous relationship, who lived here.

“It’s great, I was missing them quite a bit. Having them close by will be great.”

Community feedback had been “incredibly positive”, and he felt like there would be good support from the locals.

Initially the building and the business were being sold as a package, and the young couple could not afford the $1m-plus price tag, but Sally-Ann made it work for them, he said.

“She came back . . . and said, 'Actually, we really, really like you, and we’d like to have a go at selling the business and leasing the building’. So, that’s just awesome.

“It’s taken six months to get here. It’s been a long hard slog . . . It’s been a dream of mine to own a place, and Kristin’s got on board with it, and now having that happen is incredible really.

“Sally-Ann’s a legend, she’s made our dreams come true.”