From pubs and hotels to leading St George Leagues Club, Craig Epton reflects on the career that brought him to the CEO role in the latest episode of the ClubLife Podcast.
When Craig Epton poured his first beer at the age of 18, he had little idea that it would be the beginning of a lifelong career in hospitality.
By the time he turned 21, he was running the Imperial Hotel in Paddington, an experience that threw him into the deep end of the industry at a young age.
“It was not the Imperial Hotel on Oxford Street that it is today,” Craig says in the latest episode of the ClubLife podcast.
“It had some … challenges, so it was very interesting as a 21-year-old to get in there and run my own pub.”
But in his mid-twenties, Craig came close to walking away from hospitality altogether.
He considered joining the family accounting business, turning to his dad for advice while questioning where his career was heading.
“He said, ‘are you trying to get into an industry or out of an industry?’”.
Craig chose to stay, setting him on a path that would include several years with Accor Hotels around Australia before he found his way into the club industry, taking on senior roles at Campbelltown Catholic Club and Revesby Workers’ Club.
Today, he is leading a significant new chapter at St George Leagues Club.
Once dubbed the “Taj Mahal” of registered clubs, St George has a proud history and a strong connection to its local community.
When Craig arrived, he saw an opportunity to build on that legacy and rethink the experience the Club was offering its members.
Four years on, membership has grown from about 16,000 to 40,000, revenue has more than tripled and an $80 million redevelopment is helping shape the next chapter for the Club.
The group has also expanded beyond Kogarah, with Arncliffe Scotts and the Masonic Club, now The Boundary at Mortdale, joining the club group.
Craig’s focus also extends to the future of the industry and the people coming through it. In the ClubLife episode, he discusses the importance of showing young people a pathway through hospitality and the career opportunities the industry can offer.
“We’ve got to expose our younger people to the fun and career learning opportunities of it, not the hard slog all the time,” Craig says.
The in-depth episode also addresses the challenges facing clubs, the criticism directed at the industry and why Craig believes registered clubs will remain an important part of local communities for generations to come.
Click on the link above to hear the full interview with Craig Epton in Episode 26 of the ClubLife Podcast, or tune in via Apple, Spotify and wherever else you get your podcasts.
If you have a suggestion on who might make an interesting guest for a future ClubLife Podcast episode, get in touch with the team by emailing clublife@clubsnsw.com.au.
