End of an era: Owner calls last drinks on iconic Bendigo pub after 22 years

After 22 years at the helm, Andrew Lethlean has announced he was moving on from the pub, which he dubbed his "baby".

"I've been in hospitality now for 35 years, and I've had a lot of the late night venues in town for a long time, and I guess when you've been working out and about every weekend for a long time, you want to downsize a little bit," he said.

"Five or six years is always a good time in pubs before you move on, but we've had four or five renovations here.

"We've had name changes from Darby O'Gills to Pugg Mahone's the Metro and Pugg's Irish bar back to the Metropolitan Hotel, so we've had quite a few facelifts along the way.

"It's kept me motivated and kept everything reasonably fresh."

Mr Lethlean has plenty of experience owning pubs and bars in Bendigo, formerly owning Tonic Bar and Victoria Lane, and currently owning The Social which would remain his sole focus.

The venue was in for a "major renovation", he said, and was set to re-open about mid-year with a new name and look.

"With the direction it's going it's one of the most exciting things to happen in Bendigo, the renovation and the new opportunities moving forward with the Metro," Mr Lethlean said.

Mr Lethlean said the pub had been the "main entertainment hotel for live music" in Bendigo over the past 20-odd years, however late night CBD venues had struggled in recent years.

"Bouncing back out of COVID probably changed a lot of the ways people socialised," he said.

"My biggest issue... is that there's not enough people back at work; a lot of these small businesses used to have a lot more foot traffic on the ground, so a lot of them are suffering.

"We've been met with the perfect storm of coming out of COVID, cost of living, interest rates, things are getting more expensive, but the fact is we just haven't got the feet on the ground."

Mr Lethlean said hospitality venues would benefit from people working in town five days a week.

"A lot of it's a numbers game and I just don't think the numbers are out as much as what they used to be," he said.

The publican said with this year's Easter being his last, he would strive to go out with a bang.

The venue would host a free Bull Street Music Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 29, 30 and 31 from 12pm to late each day.

The event would feature 25 bands including Cold Chisel tribute band Gold Chisel, and the Australian ABBA Tribute Show.

The event would be the Metro's final weekend before the major renovation.

While he remained tight lipped on his next venture, Mr Lethlean said he was "putting my hand up for other opportunities".

"I think the world we live in is a little bit going in directions that sometimes I'm not fond of, so maybe I'll make a difference in that way," he said.