ONE of the town’s most popular locations on Clarence Street has reopened the doors.

Going under the name The Duck, it is run by Black Duck Brewery owner Al Owen. The building was formally home to The Pier.

His vision was to sign a long term lease and he managed to do so by investing five years up front, with potential for ten years.

Mr Owen and his team spent lots of time and money to rejuvenate the venue. They offer a range of locally made beer, as well as other beverages and food.

They opened the doors on Tuesday, May 2, with further sections of The Duck to open in the coming months.

It will be closed Mondays but will open from 12 noon until late every other day.

“It’s taken a little while and took more work than we anticipated, but it has come up really well,” Mr Owen said.

“We need to be here for a while. We need to recoup our investment as we have spent plenty of money making it a nicely presented venue.

“It is certainly a higher profile venue (in the town). The space has changed a lot. There will be opportunity for pre and post show drinks and food, even dinner.

“Our aim is to give people a space they can come, relax with friends and enjoy the atmosphere.”

The same venue was formally a hot spot for local musicians to showcase their talent. It is something Mr Owen will try and continue to some extent. 

“We will certainly maintain the live music, but it will be more along the lines of ambient solo artists,” he said.

“While we want to maintain the live music here, if we have bands that are perhaps a bit louder then we can look at taking them over to the brewery.

“We want people to come here and enjoy the fact that it won’t be extremely loud and that they can hold conversations. That relaxed atmosphere is exactly what we are aiming for.

“We plan to open a wine bar and higher end dining, specialising in food, in another section of the venue.”