Now under new ownership, there’s been a lot happening at this popular outback roadhouse in the Northern Territory.
Laura and her partner Rhino took over the Stuart Wells Roadhouse in early November.
Situated on the Stuart Highway, it’s about 90km south of Alice Springs, and is a popular stop for truckies.
Laura’s past career includes roadhouses, tourism, farming and working on stations. Originally from South Australia, she had previously owned a sheep and cattle station in the Flinders Ranges, which included tourism and restaurant facilities, but was looking for a change of pace.
While Rhino has been a truck driver for most of his working life.
“My family and I had also run takeaway shops and roadhouses. When I was younger, my mum had two roadhouses. Half of my family are truck drivers too, so I know that good, wholesome, hearty homemade food is what they need when they’re out on the road,” she said.
Laura had looked at a few other roadhouses before Rhino told her about Stuart Wells being for sale. “We went to have a look and got talking – and the next minute I bought a roadhouse!”
And she hasn’t looked back. “I’ve loved the move and every second I’ve been here, it’s just felt right. I love the fact that I’m back where it’s warm weather.”
The roadhouse was previously run by Spud and Judy, who owned the place for about 12 years.
As Laura explained, “They’ve left me with some of the most amazing staff and they’re always on call if we need anything.
“The food here was already awesome and we inherited some really good staff. We’ve just put a slight modern twist on things. I’m a cook too but I haven’t needed to go into the kitchen because my staff are brilliant.”
So far, she and Rhino have gutted out the shop and installed new counters and benchtops. The site’s six cabins have all been renovated, and the 12 budget donga rooms will soon receive a facelift too.
Truckies have their own shower and toilet block. “And that’s for them only,” said Laura. “There’s a hidden key we tell truck drivers about so they can come and use the facilities 24 hours a day. We also have a swimming pool, so they can jump in every now and then if they wish,” explained Laura.
“It’s a laid back and happy environment. We’re upgrading it but we don’t want to change the rustic home-style feel of it.”
Laura says along with the many truck drivers coming through the doors, they see a lot of tourists and travellers too.
“We have a big mixture of customers and we’re getting more and more trucks and tourists. This was supposed to be our down season so we expected it to be slower to get all the renovations done, but we’ve been flat-out since we took over. I’ve bought a little gem here!”
On the food front, think old homestyle cooking – with things like lamb shanks, bangers and mash, and osso buco being among the crowd favourites; along with the big breakfast and steak sandwiches.
“We also do our own schnitzels now that have become popular and we have a hamburger called the Hump and Jump – it’s a kangaroo and camel burger – that’s quite popular too,” Laura added.
“We’ve also started doing truckie takeaways like carbonara, beef stroganoff and curries that they can microwave down the road if they need to. The drivers are loving it. They say everyone used to do it, but no one really does it anymore.
“Our truckies get a free coffee in a big mug when they call in; and we serve breakfast, lunch or dinner. We’ve brought in a cake cabinet, that has fresh sandwiches and even sushi too.
“We want them to leave here happy, relaxed – and full!”
Looking ahead, Laura revealed there are plans to install a pizza oven, so they can start hosting pizza nights with live bands every second Friday. She’s hoping to start that from late April.
Currently the Stuart Wells Roadhouse is open from around 5.30am until after 9pm. “But we’re usually around later than that,” Laura said. “We’re also looking at possibly doing a trial when it gets busier, of staying open 24 hours a day for four to six weeks to see how that goes.”
With so much already underway at the roadhouse, Laura added, “Watch this space because everyday something new is happening.”