Greater Newcastle could soon be home to another craft brewery if plans to convert an old motorcycle showroom at Broadmeadow into a food and beverage venue win council approval.
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Novocastrian Thomas Delgatto has lodged a development application to open a brewery called Thirsty Messiah at 140 Lambton Road - the former site of KTM Newcastle. He hopes the venue will complement the city's already burgeoning craft brewing scene.
Multiple breweries have opened in the region in recent years, including Shout Brewing in Mayfield, Styx in Carrington, Rogue Scholar in Newcastle and Lake Mac Brewing Co in Morisset. A Modus Operandi venue is also being built in Merewether.
Mr Delgatto said opening a brewery had been "a long-standing pipe dream", but he had seriously considered and then planned the venture in the past few years.
"I've been brewing pretty much since I was an apprentice carpenter," the 57-year-old said.
"But I've been brewing all-grain for the last 10 years or so and I'm fascinated by the process.
"It's highly creative and it's got a technical aspect to it."
He plans to offer a diverse range of beers, most of which would be produced on-site.
"People want more choice," he said. "We've got a few [breweries] in Newcastle and there's a few other smaller breweries opening up, but people want more choice.
"I'm planning to have 36 taps at this stage ... we'll be basically having six to eight core beers, but most of the other ones will turn over [regularly].
"We'll have some speciality beers, imports that you can't get anywhere else."
The venue is proposed to operate from 6am to midnight. No alcohol would be served before 10am, only coffee and food. It will also offer "home brewer becomes a master brewer" classes.
Mr Delgatto said he initially hoped to open a venue "closer to the interchange in town" but the Broadmeadow building was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"It's close to the stadium, close to sporting fields, you've got the major redevelopment the state government has announced, cycleways, public transport.
"It's a really good site, you're not going to annoy anybody ... it's got a lot of positive attributes and is in keeping with council's vision for night-time economy."
Mr Delgatto said the "discreet" venue would be "not just another watering-hole".
The plans are yet to go on public exhibition.