The Central Hospitality Group exists today because of one man – his name is Jye Segboer. With eight incredible regional venues in his portfolio, he’s known for bringing his wealth of internationally acquired experience and exceptional standards to the Tamworth food, beverage and accommodation scene. What you might not know is that Jye’s career started when he was just 10 years old at a nearby caravan park. It was here he faced unimaginable loss and learnt how to stand (and grow) on his own two feet – fast.

Once upon a time, Jye Segboer called himself overly confident – I prefer to use the words bold, fearless and self-assured. Three qualities that have enabled him to overcome huge adversity to become the exceptional businessman he is today. Here’s how he did it.

1988-1990 – Nemingha Caravan Park, Nemingha

Jye Segboer’s working life started early out of necessity. Having lost his father at just four years old, then his mother in his early teens, keeping busy was more than a welcome distraction – it was a matter of survival.

“After my father died, my mother struggled with a lot of mental health issues. She loved me, I always knew that, but she couldn’t cope with the strain of life and found it difficult to work. So when I was 10 years old, I stepped up. We were living at a caravan park in Nemingha and I’d clean the toilets before and after school for $20 a day. I’d also help the milkman on his round – my reward was flavoured milk. Next, I started mowing people’s lawns and doing other bits and bobs to keep the money coming in. When my mum died I was in my early teens – from then on I was raised by my grandparents and my aunty, who I now call my mum.”

1992 – McDonald’s, Tamworth

Back then, the minimum working age in NSW was 13 years and nine months. So by the time Jye’s 14th birthday came around, he’d secured a job at McDonald’s and was enjoying his first taste of life in the hospitality industry.

“I was there for two years and it went fast. I moved from supervisor to crew trainer, then started the management program – but a full-time assistant manager role came up at King Kong Sales so I leapt at it. While I’ve always valued education highly, I knew it wasn’t for me. I’d decided in Year 10 to give it up, but my grandparents encouraged me to stay. I made it halfway through Year 11 and was ready to leave – they supported me in that decision as long as I had a full-time job. So I stepped away from school and through the doors at King Kong Sales. I was there for about a year and a half and by then I just knew retail wasn’t for me. I needed to move back to hospitality.”

1996 – Ashby House, Tamworth

From bargain basement sales to fine dining and accommodation at Ashby House – Jye landed on his feet under the guiding hand of Graham and Marlene Manville, stalwarts of the Tamworth hospitality scene.

“Ashby House was my first foray into accommodation and my role there covered everything. I’d work front of house, in the kitchen, on reception, and if it was a quiet day, you might even do the laundry. It gave me a real taste of the full spectrum of work in a hotel accommodation environment and I really enjoyed it. It confirmed for me that hospitality was where I wanted to be. I love how it offers real human connection and a long engagement process through regular customers and guests. I’ve got customers who have followed me in my career for the past 20 years – there are some families where I’ve had the honour of hosting their wedding, their children’s 21st parties and then their children’s weddings too. That all began with Graham and Marlene, who are still my friends today. It was their entrepreneurial flair that ultimately inspired me to keep growing my career in the industry.”

1998 – The Carriage Motor Inn, Wagga Wagga

One fateful night, Jye’s next move emerged thanks to some customers he was serving at Ashby House. That right there is the reason why he tells his staff today – always keep your game face on, you never know when your next opportunity might arise.

“Their names were Melody and Stephen Watson and they offered me my first management role – that led me to Wagga Wagga. I had family there, so I was open to the move and jumped at the chance to take on my first restaurant manager role at the Carriage House Motor Inn. It was my first time managing staff and I learnt very quickly not to be everyone’s best friend – there were some hard lessons there. It was also my first foray into managing a budget and controlling wage costs. That was a real eye opener and made me want to further my study, so I took on a diploma in hospitality management to improve my skills. It took me two years, but I was able to do it all remotely while essentially working seven days a week in Wagga.”

1999 – Forresters Beach Resort, Central Coast

In November 1998, Melody and Stephen sold their Wagga property and snapped up the Forresters Beach Resort. Since they knew a good thing while they had it, the hospitality duo took Jye along for the ride.

“I arrived as their restaurant manager, but quickly moved up to my first hotel management role. It was a small property, 34 rooms, a restaurant and a big wedding venue. About 12 months later, they also bought the Apollo International in Charlestown, so I’d spend time between the two properties. It was a busy time in my career – I was thrilled when Melody and Stephen acknowledged my efforts by entering me into the Australian Hotels Association Awards for Hotel Manager of the Year. Which I won! At 21 years old, I was the youngest recipient to ever receive the award. It was a great moment, but I was also pretty cocky – a typical, overconfident 21-year-old who thought they knew everything. I needed some time off.”

2002 – Las Vegas, America

When Melody and Stephen decided to sell their venues, Jye met with the new owner to re-interview for his role. While the conversation didn’t exactly go to plan, it led Jye to a well-earned break.

“The new owner told me I was too young for the role, and that I was overpaid. I told him I’d been successfully doing the role for three years and it couldn’t be that bad of a business if he wanted to buy it – there’s that overconfidence again! To Melody and Stephen’s credit, when I didn’t get the role, they gave me 12 months’ salary and bought me a car to thank me for the work I’d done building the business. So I finally took some time off and went travelling – first to Bali, then to America.

“I hadn’t stopped in years. I’d been living on-site, working seven days a week, so I never really switched off. I was so thankful for the time to experience somewhere new and Vegas became my favourite city – it was so ahead of the hospitality game. It became a place of learning for me, a city where I could explore new industry trends. I became conditioned to high-end service very quickly during my time there, because they all live on their tips. I was ready to bring everything I’d learnt, and more, back home to Australia.”

2003 – Noah’s On the Beach, Newcastle

Back on home soil, Jye set up in Newcastle and took himself out to dinner at the city’s iconic Noah’s On the Beach. He knew the family who owned the venue and, as luck would have it, they were looking for someone to assist with a refurbishment project. Enter Jye.

“The Hallcroft family originally took me on to manage the redesign of the entire venue. We’d finished the ground floor and were about to start on the rooms when the father sadly passed away. Understandably, the work was put on hold. When they were ready to move again, they asked if I’d take on the role of General Manager. I instantly said yes, moved on-site and enjoyed a great period of business growth. We were the only beachfront hotel in Newcastle at the time and our revenue doubled. Life was good, and then Tamworth started calling me home.”

2006 – The Powerhouse Hotel, Tamworth

Jye’s grandmother had been battling cancer for years. Despite going into remission, the disease had returned and Jye was driving home every second week to care for her and support the extended family. He’d stay at The Powerhouse each visit and it was there his next career move emerged.

“The General Manager’s role came up and I just knew it was the right time to move home, spend more time with my family and continue caring for my grandmother. Little did I know I’d spend the next 10 years of my life working at The Powerhouse. After the first six years, I stepped up to CEO and consider myself extremely lucky to this day to have worked alongside owner Greg Maguire. I took a lot of inspiration from him through my time working there and he provided me with a lot of opportunity for growth. After a decade, I felt ready to go out on my own.”

January 2014 – The Pavilion Hotel, Wagga Wagga

Once the idea of going solo was in Jye’s head, it was hard to shake. So when Peter McIntyre offered him financial backing, it was an opportunity too good to refuse.

“It was hard to leave Greg and The Powerhouse, they’d played such a pivotal role in my career and I’m so grateful. I even got cold feet and pulled out of the deal with Peter when he first offered a vendor finance arrangement with his hotel, The Pavilion in Wagga Wagga. Then another 12 months passed, he approached me again and we finally struck a deal. I took on the property as a lease and needed to find $200,000 to put in as a guarantee against the lease. I didn’t have that kind of money and already had a few hefty credit cards in my back pocket. Still, I went and got myself another four credit cards to secure the $200k band bond. I’d gone from being shit-scared, to right in the thick of it. But I had faith in my own ability and I thought, if I fail, I’ve only got myself to blame because I’ll be the one who chooses to fail.”

December 2014 – Central Hotel, Tamworth

Spoiler alert – Jye didn’t fail. In fact, his hospitality portfolio has grown from strength to strength thanks to some serious hard work, self-belief and willingness to jump on a regular 6.30am flight.

“The Attala family were doing up Tamworth’s CH Hotel and their broker approached me to see what could be done to turn the space into a four-star product. I ended up offering to buy it and ran the two venues simultaneously for months. I’d catch the early morning flight from Wagga, land in Tamworth by 8.30am, work the full day, then head back to Wagga that night. Eventually I made the decision to put the Wagga property on the market and that freed me up to move back to Tamworth full-time and focus on the Central Hotel.”

2020-now – Central Hospitality Group, Tamworth

As the saying goes, from little things, big things grow. Over the next three years, Jye and his partner Arnold grew the Central Hotel into the Central Hospitality Group (or CH Group). They have since added six businesses to the portfolio.

“First came DECO Wine Bar & Restaurant, which sits alongside the CH Boutique Hotel. Next was Hopscotch Restaurant & Bar, an incredible all-day venue in the beautiful surrounds of Bicentennial Park, followed by The Pavillion Function Centre, an award-winning venue that specialises in weddings and events. I was out there gardening one day – my Sunday retreat – when a broker rang me to say The Pig & Tinder Box was on the market. Me being me, I couldn’t bear to see such a prominent local venue not reaching its full potential, I’m so passionate about the town and our visitor experience. So we added ‘The Pig’ to the mix.

“At that point, I said that was it for food and beverage venues. We started talks of expanding our accommodation businesses, which is where our Ringers Road apartments joined the portfolio. These 12 fully serviced two- and three-bedroom apartments are based in Tamworth’s entertainment precinct and enjoy great views over the golf course. From there, we dived into plans for a block of 20 apartments on Dean Street – construction will start on those in February 2024.

“Then our accountant had an operator pull out of a deal on The Bureau by Red Ribbon, a fantastic little cafe nestled on Marius Street. At the time, we had a patisserie chef who needed an opportunity to lean into his creative flair. By adding The Bureau to our portfolio, it also gave us the opportunity to help him grow his career – that’s something that’s really important to me and something we try to do for all our staff.

“That was definitely going to be it for food and beverage… until the owners of Dungowan Station, Campbell and Narree McIntosh, asked if we’d consider taking on Dungowan Brewery. The moment we arrived we fell in love with the space, as well as the destination piece it can become for the community. I’m so passionate about creating unique visitor experiences for the region and increasing overnight visitation – The Brewery has given us a real opportunity to do that. It’s also given us a chance to try new things, like creating some of our own produce, and we started developing some of our own unique and truly local brews in November 2023.

“This latest venture has been really exciting and I’m loving meeting all of our new customers – people who have been big supporters of our businesses in town are making the drive out to visit and that really means the world. It’s why I fell in love with hospitality in the first place – human connection, following people on their journey and serving up some great food, beautiful accommodation and good times along the way.”

Feeling peckish? Sociable? Sleepy? The Central Hospitality Group can help you out with all of the above and more thanks to their eight incredible venues.

CH Boutique Hotel

52 Brisbane Street | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram 

CH Boutique Apartments

The Ringers Road | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram 

DECO Wine Bar & Restaurant

330 Peel Street | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website 

The Pavillion Function Centre & Gardens

Corner of Nundle and Back Kootingal Road | Nemingha NSW 2340 | Website 

Hopscotch Restaurant & Bar

Bicentennial Park, Corner Kable Avenue and Hill Street | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram 

The Pig & Tinder Box

429 Peel Street | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram 

The Bureau by Red Ribbon

169 Marius Street | Tamworth NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram

Dungowan Brewery

803 Ogunbil Road | Dungowan NSW 2340 | Website | Instagram 

Closed for Christmas

Ever noticed how Central Hospitality Group’s venues are closed Christmas Day? We asked Jye why and his response added yet another dimension to this businessman who leads with heart.

“I remember having a complete meltdown one Christmas Day. I was working at Noah’s On the Beach at the time and was so tired and exhausted. I broke between lunch and dinner – we’d had 300 people for lunch and another 200 would soon arrive for dinner. It can be tough to push through when you’re serving people celebrating with their family, having a nice time and you’re there working. That’s why today, in our own business, we don’t open on Christmas Day, we don’t open Boxing Day and we also close the majority of our venues on Christmas Eve. After so many years of leaving my family to work on those days, I just knew I could never do that to somebody else – it’s entirely gut-wrenching. There are special moments in life, like birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations that we always try to ensure our staff have time off to be with the people they love – because that’s what matters most.”

Photography Jim A. Barker