Oozing with history and rustic outback charm, this oasis on the Queensland/New South Wales border has reopened following upgrades to the truck parking area.
The Hebel Hotel and General Store is located in the little town of Hebel, just 4 kilometres over the border on the Queensland side.
It’s owned and run by local farmers Frank and Megan Deshon, who purchased the business four years ago.
When they originally took over, the Hebel Hotel and General Store had been closed down for about 12 months. After a refresh, including upgrading the kitchen with new appliances, they breathed new life into the historic stop.
Hebel is home to just 10-12 people. “It’s a good safe spot for truckies to pull up and it’s in a friendly little town. This is about it in Hebel, apart from the school and the church,” said Frank.
“The pub is just as it was in the 1880s – it’s been there since 1887 and is one of the old treasures of our country.”
The business incorporates a truck stop and a pub, along with a caravan park that includes donga and fully renovated cabin accommodation.
“We had to close the truck stop in February to reseal the truck parking bay, which had cracked and had potholes, so we redid all of that and reopened at the end of June,” added Frank.
“There’s a big parking area. We could get 12-14 trucks here at once. We’re the first stop coming into Queensland from NSW on the Castlereagh and Oxley Highway.
“We get a lot of regular truckies who stop by, particularly the livestock guys moving through; and a lot of interstaters lately since the road upgrades at Oxley Highway. They come up through Broken Hill.”
Along with running the Hebel Hotel and General Store, Frank has a background in farming and livestock. “I’m a third-generation farmer and we’re still on the same property. It’s been in the family for many years.”
As for the menu, it’s a true paddock to plate philosophy, with beef being a popular favourite – and with good reason.
“The menu is pretty expansive – our speciality is steak. We have our own meat brand called Three Rivers Meats. We raise the cattle at our farm and it gets processed locally. So we pride ourselves on the high quality of our steaks and steak sandwiches,” explained Frank.
“We’ve got a lady named Suzie who runs the kitchen and then we have two French chefs under her. We pride ourselves on the high standards of our meals.”
Also on the menu are homemade pies, made fresh every morning, pizzas, parmigianas, cakes, slices – and even vacuum sealed fresh meat packs for truckies to buy and cook out on the road, along with a selection of frozen meals.
Customers can choose to eat inside the truck stop or the pub – or outside in the beer garden.
As for facilities, truckies are welcome to use the caravan park’s toilets and showers.