Restaurant plans approved for West End

A food and drink establishment in Wangaratta's West End has been granted a permit with operators of the popular Old Faithfulls Brew Bar excited by their new venture. The business will be in a General Residential Zone and will take over the occupancy of the former retail shop on the corner of Phillipson and Matheson streets and offer cafe, bar and restaurant facilities for patrons. Operating hours will include Monday to Saturday 7am to 11pm, Sunday 10am to 11pm, and ANZAC Day and Good Friday 12 noon to 11pm. The service and consumption of liquor will be put forth in a separate application through the Victorian Liquor Commission. Venue capacity is 120 patrons and applicants requested that a reduction of the parking from 48 to 26 onsite be approved. There are another 13 parking spaces available on-street and this excludes any car parking on Matheson Street. The application received 11 objections and council and proponents worked with these people with a view to alleviate concerns. Objections were around perceptions of land use and operating hours, amenity impacts, traffic issues and parking, and net community benefit. Mayor Irene Grant said it was important to note that council met with both the applicant and some of the objectors, consulting with them about the plans. Cr Ashlee Fitzpatrick thanked both parties on their attendance at council to meet with councillors and discuss the item. "The meeting was a great opportunity to convey what's actually going on instead of making assumptions and also getting some clarification," she said. "This will be new and exciting for the area and I look forward to everyone working together." Owners of Old Faithfulls Brew Bar on Faithfull Street, Dave Thayer and Tanya McAlpin, are looking to offer a point of difference with the additional business to service an area on the other side of town. "Tanya and I are rapt and we cannot wait to get this business up and running," Mr Thayer said. "We look forward to working in with everyone in the area to make this a real asset for Wang west. "We invite people to pop in and say hi during construction and hopefully we can answer all questions." The couple live in the neighbourhood but they've always thought that the amount of venues to eat and drink at were limited. "We've got our mind set on how it will look and feel at the venue, we've just got to match the food to suit it," Mr Thayer said. "It's going to be a family orientated restaurant, have some good food, drinks, and some live acoustic entertainment." They are hoping for construction to start before Christmas and for the venue to open by the start of April next year.

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