Story
The long game
words clem stanley
PHOTOGRAPHY pete thornton
An office to the side of the reception desk at the Vine Inn Barossa Community Hotel is now the base of the illustrious venue’s current General Manager, Gabrielle Marschall.
While the Nuriootpa venue is known for its expansive bistro, ambient bar and plethora of function spaces, the manager’s office fits so seamlessly into the building – much like its current occupant, who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes.
Like those in equivalent roles before her, Gabrielle has an ‘open door policy,’ inviting those from across the Vine Inn’s many departments to come to her with anything they need to check, issues they need to discuss – or just to say hello.
“I do say this occasionally, it probably sounds really strange, but I say ‘if you hang around long enough, they eventually give you the big job’,” Gabrielle says modestly.
A Tanunda local originally, descended from Menglers on her father’s side, Gabrielle’s early years were spent growing up on the side of the eponymous hill.
Her mother Kathy, on the other hand, moved to the region as a teenager, when her parents (Gabrielle’s grandparents) bought the Truro Hotel.
“…Maybe it runs in the family?” Gabrielle mused.
It’s a fair assessment to make, especially when Gabrielle credits her mother for her being hired at the Vine Inn in the first place.
It was 1996, and Gabrielle was 21 years old and three years into studying a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, when she moved back home to the Barossa while in her final year of university.
She applied for a position as a waitress at the Vine Inn, where her Mum had worked for some 11 years at that stage. Little did Gabrielle know she would also have a long-term tenure at the hotel, having just reached 30 years of service.
“My interview went along the lines of ‘just come in and let us know when you can work,’ because they already knew me,” Gabrielle said, recalling that although this was her first time on the payroll, her high school work experience was also completed in the venue’s kitchens.
Starting out serving tables and collecting plates, she quickly graduated to working behind the bars, and in the gaming room.
Gabrielle also found herself picking up some admin work in reception as well, even taking on the odd maintenance job and cleaning the accommodation.
Soon, 14 years had passed, and she was almost what you could call a ‘Jill of all trades’, working across those areas as well as in supervisory and leadership roles.
It’s the role of all roles that Gabrielle still carries today, as she gets down on the ground to assist team members from the Barossa Light and Gawler Netball Association put together new shelving on site.
It wasn’t always straightforward, especially at a time which saw many legislative and regulatory changes taking place in the hospitality industry.
“Fourteen years, it sounds like a long time, but I think it’s because I’ve been able to do different things within the business, so I haven’t just stuck in one department …because if you’re not learning something new in your job, then maybe you’re not going to be as satisfied in that job,” Gabrielle said candidly.
Despite her qualifications in early childhood education, Gabrielle says she simply realised upon completing the course, it wasn’t what she wanted to do.
In 2010, Gabrielle was appointed Functions Manager, marking the step into a department-leading role – a defining moment when she started to realise that hospitality might not just be a job, but a career.
“I saw this as a job I was doing while I was at Uni, and there’s a lot of people that to this day work in those jobs, and I guess to some point I had to get to the realisation that this is actually my career, it’s not just my job,” Gabrielle said.
“It’s very much a family, and you have to look at it like that, because you spend so much of your life at work that certain people that you work with certainly do become like family to you.”
- Gabrielle Marschall
In 2012, the career evolved to assistant manager following some restructuring – and a title which more accurately reflected the work she was doing.
In the coming years, Gabrielle worked closely with CEO Chris Linden, who she had a constructive working relationship with, and would eventually help identify her potential for leadership.
Yet when Chris retired in 2022, she didn’t immediately step into the role of General Manager – while she interviewed and came close, the board ultimately went in a different direction.
When the position became available again, Gabrielle stepped in for the interim, eventually taking over as general manager in 2023.
In hindsight, she says that the nine months between was in fact a blessing, giving her time to recover from the stressful period of COVID-19 restrictions, and then the following unexpected boom in business which came while they were still operating at minimum staff levels.
Overseeing all facets of The Vine Inn’s operations and some 70 staff – from the bars and gaming, accommodation, bottle shop, kitchens and administration – Gabrielle says she is uniquely placed, having a base understanding of what each one does, to help them resolve any issues which arise, or step in where needed.
“It’s very much a family, and you have to look at it like that, because you spend so much of your life at work that certain people that you work with certainly do become like family to you,” Gabrielle said.
And a family it is, in a metaphorical sense too.
Besides Gabrielle and her mum, there are also a number of siblings who work at the Vine Inn, a father/daughter duo in the bottle shop and a few married couples across the various departments.
Gabrielle says laughing that her Mum likes to proclaim that Gabrielle is the boss, and specifically her boss too.
“Which is hilarious, but I think that’s more so her showing that she’s proud of where I am and what I’ve achieved here,” Gabrielle said.
Contrary to what the hospitality industry is often known for, Gabrielle says that the Vine Inn has an unusually low staff turnover – meaning that the team works together for years.
It’s something that Gabrielle sees as an appropriate measure for a harmonious team across the board.
“We must be doing something right,” she said.
It’s a harmony which extends beyond the venue and into the wider community – as Gabrielle explains, the older she got and the longer she worked at the Vine Inn, she truly came to see just how much the community-owned venue contributes back to the Barossa in very tangible ways.
“I couldn’t see us doing it any differently,” Gabrielle said.
And it’s a community she is also a big part of too.
While managing and being part of the team at the Vine Inn is a significant part of Gabrielle’s life – there is another team which is equally notable, one which has required her to always have Thursday nights and Saturday daytime off.
“Would you believe it!” Gabrielle said of reaching a milestone 500 games with Tanunda Netball Club.
At this stage in her netball career with the beloved Maggies, she says that it’s less about the game and more about the team she’s playing with.
It’s wisdom she has picked up after her many years of playing, in addition to some coaching, umpiring and committee roles within the club – no doubt some of these skills are transferable to the work environment, and vice versa.
Her mother before her was also a Maggies netballer, but like all great careers, knowing when to call time is also equally important.
With Kathy now calling time on her career at the Vine Inn too, Gabrielle says it will definitely be a change coming into work and not seeing her mum every day.
But like Kathy, Gabrielle is well and truly in the hospitality industry for the long game too – and hopes to change minds along the way to show others that they can do the same.
“I’ve mentioned before, the industry struggles sometimes with recruitment, and it’s getting into that point where (we’re) trying to make people aware that you can make a career off this industry,” she said.
“It’s not the job that you do while you’re wanting to get to the other job that you want to do.
“You can make it a career.”
