There's no denying the fact that Nambucca Heads is a little town with huge potential.
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While there's no shortage of million dollar views, places with only a skerrick as much innate natural beauty often seem to do a much better trade.
There's a lot of talk about what 'should' be done, but only a few seem to walk the walk.
Good thing then that the V-Wall Tavern has scored itself a 'doer'.
Ben Abbott has recently returned to the Valley after paying his dues in big city bars.
"I've done the city grind, but it was time to come home for a lifestyle change," he said.
"You don't realise how beautiful Nambucca is until you move away and come back."
As serendipity would have it, the place in the Valley he'd fantasised about running when he was a kid just happened to be advertising for a new manager.
He's brought a new energy to the V-Wall, and a whole swag of ideas too.
"My goal is to be the most well-known place for food and service for 500km in either direction," he said.
And first on his agenda was to start showcasing the variety of quality goods the Valley and neighbouring areas have to offer.
"We've got some of the best produce around - it's a no-brainer to get some of it down here," he said.
He and head chef Brad Brown hatched a plan.
What resulted was a Long Table degustation event where local diners got to sit down with farmers and producers and explore the Valley one mouthful at a time.
Courses included Nambucca River oysters with finger lime pearls; a Bellingen Smokehouse trout selection board with microherb creme fraiche, courtesy of Abundant Vitality Farms in Bowraville; Coast and Plateau (Brierfield) honey-baked camembert with Port-soaked fruits; beef cheek ragu with Nambucca Heads-grown oyster mushrooms on fresh pappardelle pasta, from Paradise Mushrooms and Leonella Pasta; Eungai Buffalo Farm Persian feta with basil and tomato in a Caprese salad; a local butcher board with veggie pots fresh from Nambucca Valley Aquaponics (Bowraville); and a baklava selection and mini cannoli from the Baklover's Kitchen and Leonella Pasta.
And to pair with the food, there was a huge selection of lagers and ales courtesy of Kempsey's Bucket Brewery.
The Long Table was a test run for future events of its kind.
"Brad was the instigator. He said let's have a dinner and showcase local produce," Ben said.
"And I said great - let's use the Long Table event to talk about the farmer's markets."
Ben has recently met with Council's Business Development Manager Wayne Lowe to discuss setting up regular produce markets at the V-Wall.
"I love the energy and innovation that the youth of this Valley are bringing to this place," Wayne said.
"I'm on board with the idea and I'm willing to work with him to achieve his goal. But at the moment it's still in the concept planning stage - development applications still need to be submitted and approved."
The hope is to have the markets up and running by December, but the timing of them needs to be negotiated in order to minimise holiday traffic congestion.
The next phase of V-Wall renovations could also potentially put a spanner in the works.
Ben's not letting anything rain on his parade, though.
It'd be great to get some twilight markets going over the Summer holidays too - what I can see is a little bit of live music, a few food trucks and some fire twirling. I want to see this place going where it could go.
- Ben Abbott
Since coming on board at the V-Wall Tavern three months ago he's already made a point of joining the local Chamber of Commerce.
And he's thinking about making a tilt at local government at next year's council elections.
"I just want to get in there and get amongst it. I'm not a politician but I know how to get things done. Vote 1 for Abbott," he said, before reconsidering this pitch.
"Ok, so maybe it's not the best name for politics right now - maybe I should go by my middle name, Harley Davidson."
No joke.
Politics aside, Ben's 'can-do, must-do' energy is certainly the thing the town needs right now to get its engine revving.