The owner of Smeaton's historic Cumberland Hotel says damage done to the front of the 161-year-old building, following a car crash on Tuesday morning, will cost thousands of dollars.
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The two-car crash happened at the corner of Creswick-Newstead Road and Daylesford-Clunes Road just after 11am, with one of the vehicles involved, a white Toyota ute, taking out a number of poles supporting the verandah and coming to rest against the outside wall.
The other vehicle, a silver hatchback, suffered extensive damage to its front-end.
Caleb Consiglio purchased The Cumberland, which is Victoria's oldest weatherboard pub, in September and re-opened it only four weeks ago - after a full renovation.
"One half of the whole verandah is gone and the car ...came in and scraped the whole side of the building and took the verandah out with it," Mr Consiglio said.
"Structurally, the building is fine...the old girl is strong, she holds up well. "There's some hairline cracks inside and cosmetic outside."
Mr Consiglio said the verandah, which was held up by cranes earlier on Tuesday was now supported by pallets until it can be fixed.
He was also relieved no-one was hurt.
"We were closed for the day...luckily for us our cleaner had just left about five minutes before it happened," Mr Consiglio said.
"She was mopping in that room that the car smacked into about 10 minutes prior. We're just happy that everyone was safe."
The pub is likely to remain closed until at least Saturday.
"We really apologise for everyone that has booked, we will get in touch with them personally." Mr Consiglio said.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson confirmed two people were assessed at the scene.
"A male in his 20s was transported to Ballarat Base Hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries," the spokesperson said. "A second patient was assessed on scene, but treatment and transport weren't required."
Mr Consiglio said he consulted the Smeaton community about ideas for the pub, before the renovations began.
"We've created a community hub again - which is so, so cool. It's such a small town and everybody there is awesome."
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