Earlier this week, the Dunedin City Council, which owns the site which is shared with the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, confirmed a new tenant had been secured to lease the site.
The popular Nova cafe closed in mid-March last year after owners Mark and Nick Fraser decided not to renew their lease.
Mr Wall, who bought The Swan last year, had always wanted to grow his business into having several sites.
He originally looked at the Nova site prior to the extensive roadworks on Bath St.
The more they learned what was involved in that project, many of those in the hospitality industry in that area ‘‘started to think it was Armageddon’’, he said.
While the first six months of owning The Swan were ‘‘super tough’’, the business found its feet with a strong food offering.
With a good business model under his belt, he started looking at other sites should he need to temporarily shift the business due to the disruption of the roadworks. But after a ‘‘bit of a drop-off’’, business stabilised and that idea was parked.
But the notion of Nova was still in his head as he had always loved the space, recalling when he worked in the Octagon years ago and used to ‘‘look at it in awe’’.
He was aiming for a elegant, fun, timeless mid-century dining vibe at his new premises, which would be known as Commons Eatery.
The premises had been gutted and he hoped to open for about a week’s trading in mid-December, before reopening in early January.
Evening openings will probably be launched in mid-January.
Mr Wall acknowledged opening a second hospitality business was a massive undertaking, particularly when it had been tough times and there had been closures in the sector.
But he was also looking forward to the launch of Commons, saying those feelings were ‘‘pretty well balanced with feelings of anxiety’’ — ‘‘but overall the journey has been quite exciting’’.
sally.rae@odt.co.nz
