The former Ulladulla High School student will be the new licensee of the former Commercial Hotel in Milton, which closed in 2017.

The married father-of-one has worked in hospitality since his first job cleaning fish at Burrill Lake as a 13-year-old.

Since then he's worked in kitchens at the Quay in Sydney, locally at Bannisters, the Pavilion and Tallwood, overseas in London and France, and before he returned to Ulladulla he spent a few years at a winery in Western Australia where he found a love for fermenting in cooking and brewing.

Mr Martin was looking at opening a small tap room in the district, but he was also talking to new owner Todd Salter about plans for the pub.

"I sort of approached him again maybe 10 months ago and asked if he wanted a pub that brewed its own beer and the rest is history," he said.

"I just wanted to do the beer, but it was too good of an opportunity to turn down."

The original Commercial Bar - named after the hotel's historic name - remains with a brewery, a new dining room, kitchen and a deck and beer garden expansion in the works.

"We will be putting a beer garden in, a play area for children. We want it to be really family-orientated."

Because Mr Martin is focussed on the hotel being family-friendly, the poker machine room and TAB will be removed.

"We're just trying to put on what we do in our day-to-day life and share it with everyone," he said.

His family's love for local produce and fine dining will be mirrored in the menu and brother-in-law Loris Virgilio, who has a "passion" for good wine, food and beer will be taking on the front of house duties.

"I know a lot of meat producers and vegetable growers in the area ... through cooking and knowing them personally outside of cooking as well. So, it will be a big part of our menu, it will all be designed to be as local as possible," he said.

Use of local seafood, meat, dairy and vegetables tied in with the name change.

"We've been talking about the idea of changing the name to bring the whole thing back to local food and local produce and calling it the Milton Hotel, purely to make it like a local, homegrown thing."

Mr Martin said he plans on opening for summer.

"We have to be open by Christmas, by December purely from a financial point of view. As a start up business we have to make the most out of that," he said.