The owner of a well-known Noosa hinterland cafe says a planned revamp will allow it to provide a better offering and run more efficiently.
A new covered deck for customer seating would be built and car parking reconfigured under plans for the Black Ant at Kin Kin.
Owner David Ezrine said a reconfiguration of seating and other areas would be more comfortable for customers and provide more space in the cafe building for food production to expand its artisanal offerings.
“It will be a much better offering, where we can make coffee faster and much better in a more orderly way, that’s more efficient from a back-of-house point of view, and this is all because of good planning,” Mr Ezrine said.
“It’s a way that will offer a varied range of not only cafe foods but we can incorporate a general store that provides standard provisions as well artisanal products that people can take home with them, and it will also provide a wonderful seating environment that’s more comfortable for people to have a meal and catch up with friends.”
Black Ant Ventures has applied to Noosa Council for a minor change to its existing dining and entertainment approval to make the changes.
In documents lodged as part of the application and assessment process, Plan A Town Planning, on behalf of Black Ant, says the changes will promote a “more visual experience” for customers.
“Patrons will be able to see the open bakery; pastry making; visual food merchandising; and a food display service model that allows the customer to choose their meals and have them prepared, in some cases, within their view,” it says.
“In this way, we will drastically reduce all customer footfall, and all seating areas, within the current interior building and allow the customer to engage and view the offerings from the current verandah walkway.
“This creates a perimeter arcade to ingress/egress to the new seating area, as well as offer sufficient space to allow customers to view, engage and see the new artisanal food production areas.”
A traffic report that has been submitted as part of the application process says there will be no significant increase in numbers at the cafe and no need for additional parking.
The traffic report says an Australia Post facility on the property will be relocated as part of the proposed redevelopment.
Mr Ezrine, who owns other property in Kin Kin, including the Kin Kin Hotel, said he would consider where to move the post office facility once the application was approved.
He said the changes to the cafe had been formulated after operating it and experimenting with offerings over a year.
A change of direction had been necessary after taking ownership of the cafe, which had not been profitable, he said.
Mr Ezrine felt that artisanal foods, handmade from local and other quality ingredients, were in line with the values of many in the surrounding community.
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He said the covered deck would ensure customer seating, which was presently exposed to sun and rain, was out of the elements.
The cafe announced in late May it would close for a winter break and renovations.
Mr Ezrine said the cafe would remain closed for the time being rather than continue running at a loss and he hoped the council would “do their part” in the meantime so the revamp and reconfiguration could begin.
He said engineers and other experts would be involved after the application was approved and it was not yet possible to discuss when work would likely start.
He was unsure if the cafe would retain the Black Ant name, saying it was something that would require consideration.
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