Sonya Scott has taken over the property's lease from Chris and Ami Thornton, who signed on the dotted line late last year but have decided instead to focus on their businesses, Restaurant Mason and Restaurant Mason catering, and their three young children.

Read more: Chef takes over Newcastle icon Longworth House

Scott has already re-opened The Williams Bar and introduced Happy Hour, with more plans to come.

"With some of the closures in the city, I think there is an opportunity for a new wine bar in Newcastle," she told Food & Wine.

"We plan to paint and revamp and I'm considering a name change. I was originally going to take over the old MEET location in Honeysuckle and call it Artisan Wine Bar.

"The Williams Bar, though, is a very different location. I still may change the name but I need to understand this place a little more first."

Scott and her husband Travis have two children and moved from Cronulla to the Hunter Valley six years ago.

"We bought a little vineyard in Pokolbin and loved the open spaces, however decided to make the move to Newcastle to make it easier for the kids' school and sport," she said.

"While I am not a wine expert, I am passionate about wine. It all started when an old friend and I were drinking a bottle of red on a Gold Coast holiday and trying to work out how you could get hints of 'chocolate' in wine. We then went on a 10-week wine knowledge course and I was hooked.

"Our time in the Valley gave us an understanding of the difficulties and rewards of the artisan vignerons and winemakers. We are championing their skills and are very excited to offer wines being developed by the 'young guns' of the Hunter Valley: Angus Vinden, Dan Binet, Scott Comyns and Shannon Burgess-Moore to name a few, together with Hunter Valley legends Andrew Margan, Andrew Thomas and Mike de Iuliis.

"We also have Iron Gate Estate with new chief winemaker Geoff Broadfield at the helm. We will be adding some more labels over the coming weeks. We have classic Hunter Semillon and Shiraz as well as many of the new varieties of Albarino, Fiano, Barbera, Garganega and Alicante Bouschet."

Scott can be found behind the newly-opened Williams Bar at Longworth House, keen to guide customers who are uncertain what to order from the "100 per cent Hunter Valley" list.

"I love helping people to expand their knowledge of wine and in the future might offer fun wine courses as a hen's afternoon starter," she said.

"The Williams Bar will also feature a local winemaker each month and at the regular Longworth Long Lunches a four-course menu will be paired with the winemaker of the month's wines."

A new chef - whose name we cannot share just yet - is taking over the kitchen after Christmas. For now, the focus is on tapas-style food and share plates with Mediterranean, European and North African flavours.

"Current head chef Michael Park has been in the industry for 25 years and spent time working at the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Adelaide before returning to the Hunter to raise his family," Scott said.

"He is using this opportunity to branch out and create his own menu using fresh local produce with rustic and diverse flavours."

Scott worked in hospitality while studying at university, with roles at the Sydney Football Stadium and Sydney Cricket Ground requiring her to look after members during major events, often working with executive chefs to feed upwards of 400 people. She worked in finance for a time before returning to hospitality so that she could set her own hours and run her own show - as well as her family.

The Scotts also ran a restaurant, for a time, as franchisees and were frustrated at the high fees and rent, and lack of support from above.

"We handed the business back and took a big hit," she said.

"But I'm much happier now that I am in control of my destiny. I can pick my suppliers and my sell price, and choose what I want to put on the menu.

"I love the historic nature of Longworth House and being in a location that every Novocastrian knows. We will be sharing the space with Chris and Ami Thornton and the amazing Restaurant Mason Team who will be our preferred outside catering supplier.

"Weddings, birthdays, private and corporate functions can be catered for in one of the three spaces and the bar will be open to the public Wed and Thursday, 4pm to 10pm, and Friday and Saturday, 4pm to midnight.

"We plan on opening for Christmas Lunch and New Year's Eve (bookings essential) and will also have specials for Supercars ticket holders during the race weekend."

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