The stunning former bank on the corner or Hunter and Bolton streets in Newcastle's city centre is known for its looks. Tim Moran wants to give it a personality, too.
He's opening a new small bar, Roxanne, in the building on September 21 with fellow hospitality professionals Lauryn O'Shaughnessy, Jacob Flynn, Lawrie Hansen and Jake Blenman.
Old-fashioned customer service is the focus at Roxanne. The food, drinks and aesthetic will impress, certainly, but it's the overall experience that Moran wants people to remember, and that will be spearheaded by the service.
He spent 20 years living and working in Melbourne and it opened his eyes to what service could - or should - be at a venue of this calibre.
"We're going for a vintage theme, with lots of antiques. The space is fancy but it's not about the furniture. We're offering old-fashioned service; people coming to your table and taking your order, bringing you drinks, pampering you," he tells Weekender.
"We wanted to bring that personalised Melbourne vibe where staff are there to host you.
"If you want to stand up and walk to the bar, go for it, do it your way ... there will be a bartender waiting for you. But you don't have to. If you want to sit at a table all night and have us bring everything to you, that's what will happen."
Moran and his team originally planned to launch Roxanne on the Easter long weekend, having spent 18 months working on the space. Then lightning struck the building, repairs had to be done, and the opening date was pushed back a few months.
Looking at the positives, the delay meant they were able to find the right chef for the job. Nathan Davies, who is charge of the food offering, says the menu will "showcase modern Australian cuisine, highlighting native ingredients and local produce ... dry-aged meats, ferments and share-style dishes cooked over fire".
Moran sings his praises.
"He's really passionate about food. He loves to cook. He makes his own sourdough, ages his own steaks ... we're so lucky to have found him," he says.
"He has a vision of what he wants to do at Roxanne.
"I'd describe the menu as wide-ranging fusion food done with unique Australian ingredients, which means we'll be using Australian spices and fingerlimes, that sort of thing. It's casual, fun and a little bit fancy."
As for the drinks menu, the main focus will be cocktails - and cocktails done well.
"They will all be clarified, use extractions ... that's what Jake and Flynn do, they're cocktail masters," Moran says.
"We'll have an amazing wine list, a big range of whiskies, gins and tequilas, and six or seven taps with draught beer and rotating craft beers."
Moran's enthusiasm about the city's newest small bar bubbles to the surface in every comment he makes. I ask him about the music side of things, and it's apparent a lot of thought has been put into getting the vibe just right.
And again, the focus is on the customer.
"We want the music to be subtle, we don't want people to feel we're trying to get them to dance," he says.
"It's going to be a lot of really cool, obscure stuff like Portishead or Massive Attack. Cool, a little bit darker, sexy, vibey.
"I don't want the music to get in the way of conversations."
A city on the cusp
Family ties persuaded Moran and his wife Marguerite Tierney back to Newcastle, where they opened Blackstone Gallery at 47 Hunter Street.
Moran is gallery manager and Marguerite, herself an artist, is a curator.
"I do miss Melbourne sometimes but I love Newcastle. It's a completely different world," he says.
"Newcastle is beaches and nature whereas we were living in the Prahran area in Melbourne and it was exciting, but also tiring.
"It's a fun city to be young in, but we reached that point where we weren't really going out in Melbourne and partying like when we were in our 20s. We were coming back to Newcastle so much more to see our families, and then we got to a point where we were like 'Should we just move back?' And we did."
He reckons Newcastle is a city "on the cusp". It could go either way, but "people do want something different", which he finds promising.
"A lot of the venues are a bit same-y, and a lot of the better venues are pubs that are doing a good job. There's been a few smaller venues, like Coal and Cedar, who are doing pretty well but they've been the exception to the rule," Moran says.
"You can learn a lot about hospitality in Melbourne; what service really is. No two venues are the same and every one gives a different experience through the service.
"Sydney doesn't have that, in my opinion, but we're hoping to bring it to Newcastle with Roxanne."
