OWNERS of Wickham's newest kid on the block, Flotilla, are hoping their "refined casual" restaurant and bar becomes the suburb's "neighbourhood gem" when it opens next week.
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Chris Joannou and Zach Scholtz have been working on Flotilla for more than a year and since before the project that brought them together, The Edwards, was damaged by fire last June.
"You'll get a sense of who we are through this venue, as well as the place we would like to go and eat and drink at," said former Silverchair bassist Mr Joannou.
"This was an opportunity to do something a little more refined, being a lot smaller and in essence a little more easily managed, and being able to provide a level of service and quality of food where we can raise the bar.
"But, I'm not one to really dress up all that often, hence refined casual - this is a place where you can come casually dressed, but have a banging meal."
The friends, who started working together on April 4 five years ago, have brought chef Jess Brooks - and bar manager Simon Nicholas - from The Edwards to Flotilla to create a menu catering "from vegans to carnivores" that showcases Australian produce from local suppliers.
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Half of the mostly Australian wines are natural, or made with minimal chemical and technological intervention.
The venue, inspired by Abbott Kinney in Los Angeles, seats 48 inside, including at high chairs looking into the open kitchen, which is anchored by a charcoal oven that will cook protein, vegetables and many of the dishes' ingredients.
"They're doing amazing things in there - there's absolutely nothing to hide, but everything to put on show," Mr Joannou said.
The pair recently took on The Criterion Hotel in Carrington and said moving into the increasingly-changing Wickham was a no-brainer.
"As the CBD has moved from where it was to Newcastle West there's a whole lot of different influences on these suburbs... which are starting to get that inner-city fringe atmosphere," he said.
"Now with the transport hub, and a fair bit more residential and commercial [development] to happen between here and Hunter Street, we don't have a crystal ball but we just feel it's a great place."
Flotilla will open at 3pm on April 12 and operate from 3pm Wednesdays to Sundays.
Mr Joannou and Mr Scholtz hope it will grow to offer weekend brunches too.
"Creating something that becomes the neighbourhood gem is important for us, because it is very connected with residents and locals, so it's about complementing rather than dominating," Mr Joannou said.
He hopes to reopen The Edwards, possibly this year.
"We're absolutely moving forward to get the old girl back open... it's a big part of all of us missing down there."