Connections, Community & The Guest Experience – Mr West / Bar Spontana

"That's what it's about at the end of the day: connections, community and people."

What is the essence of good hospitality? What is its purpose, and how do you give people what they want in 2026?

As they set out to reimagine Mr West [https://craftypint.com/bar-and-bottleshop/mr-west] in Footscray – complete with transforming the downstairs bottleshop into a new drink-in space called The Cave – we invited Josh Hodges and Jack Roebuck on to the show to find out what they've learned across their careers in beer, bars and beyond.

We delve into the reasons behind their decision to refresh Mr West, their belief that the guest experience is all, the soaring success they're enjoying at Bar Spontana in Brunswick, and their respective backstories: Josh taking inspiration from parents who played a key role in giving craft beer a foothold in Melbourne; Jack's journey from First Choice Liquor to Left Handed Giant in Bristol then back to Melbourne.

For The Week On Crafty, James is once again joined by Luke McCarthy, editor of our just-launched sibling publication The Full Measure [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/]. We discuss Moon Dog's plans to take their Wild West concept to Geelong [https://craftypint.com/news/4202/moon-dog-to-bring-the-wild-west-to-geelong], the sad news that much-loved High Country brewery King River has gone into liquidation [https://craftypint.com/news/4204/king-river-brewing-enters-liquidation-future-uncertain], Woopi Brewing's fifth anniversary [https://craftypint.com/news/4174/woopi-brewing-co-five-years-in-five-beers], and the launch of Detective Nic Amaro – a collab brew between Molly Rose, Proud Mary Coffee and our Crafty Cabal beer club [https://craftycabal.com/] members.

Start of segments:

* 0:15 – The Week On Crafty

* 13:29 – Grainstock 2026 [https://www.grainstock.com.au/]

* 14:17 – Jack & Josh Part 1

* 34:15 – Get a free Packpal sample [https://packpal.com.au/products/sample]

* 35:19 – Jack & Josh Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.