Our Story.
The idea behind My Little Pub was born during the COVID-19 lockdown when co-founders Steve Rosling & Gary Altenburg, like all of us, found themselves without a pub to frequent and with a bit of extra time on their hands.
Having designed & fit out dozens of pubs up and down New Zealand over the years and having spent plenty of time in Irish and English pubs, it all came together. Why not give people the opportunity to have their own perfect little pub in their own backyard?
Fast forward a few short months and with the help of co-founders, Steve Rosling and Gary Altenburg’s and Gary’s Niece, Breiana the idea was brought to life.
T. O’Loughlin’s was the first Little Irish Pub to be built in December 2020. Named after Gary’s father-in-law, Terry O’Loughlin who was treated to a surprise when the Little Irish Pub was unveiled with his name on it, painted in the colour of the O’Loughlin home country and adorned with old historic family photos. The Little Irish Pub very quickly became a hit with the family, workmates, neighbours and anyone who spotted it on the back of the truck travelling through Christchurch streets on its way to its new home. It was, and still is, the talk of the town.
My Little Pub really has evolved from a perfect storm; a lockdown that shut our local pubs, a closed border that stopped us from travelling overseas and having two founders with the idea and expertise in design and manufacturing to turn a regular pub into a miniature, tiny pub.
Over the last couple of years Gary, Breiana and Charlotte (also Gary’s wife) have been working to give My Little Pub an identity and become a name that people can trust. “We are constantly tweaking the formula to make a better experience for people. I’m consistently amazed the way that Gary can turn people’s ideas into something that is always above people’s expectations and is then able to implement the learnings into the next pub, and then the one after that and so on. It just gets better and better.”
My Little Pub has found it’s strength in being a family run and orientated business. “We always want to be the down to earth, approachable, real people you can talk to and know that we care for your project because you become a part of our community.”
“It just feels really good to make cool things for great people.”
And of course no Little Pub would exist without the wider teams and suppliers My Little Pub work with. Particularly MWF Manufacturing, Gary & Charlotte’s joinery business (that they’ve had for 21 years!) who always always produce top quality work, have a “nothing’s a problem” attitude and are a great team of people to work with.
So there you have it, we are just your local, pub-loving, friends-next-door who want to put a really amazing miniature pub in your backyard that you and your family and friends will enjoy for years to come.
Gary, Brei & Char x
