New restaurant and bar set to open in Timaru
Owners of a new pub and restaurant in Timaru want to raise the bar when it comes to hospitality, as they take on the city’s former Lone Star premises.
The chain restaurant, which closed in February, will soon be transformed into the Bullock Restaurant and Bar.
Stafford Hospitality Ltd directors Bob Mason and Ross Rathgen, who own Timaru’s Old Bank Cafe and Bar, expect to open in about a month.
‘‘It’ll be a good product for a fair price, with great service,’’ Mason said. ‘‘It’s going to be right up there.’’ Mason and Rathgen have applied for a liquor licence from the Timau District Licensing Committee and are looking for experi- enced bar staff. A manager and kitchen staff are already lined up for the new business.
New Zealand bar owners had to ‘‘step up’’ when it came to providing a good service, considering the country’s largest growth area was tourism, Mason said.
In the last 10 years Stafford Hospitality Ltd made changes to the Old Bank Cafe and Bar, but this was a chance to set a high standard from the very beginning.
‘‘You’ve got to seriously target food, or you’re going to achieve nothing,’’ Mason said.
‘‘Do good food, and do it well, that’s the key.’’
The bar area holds about 200 people, and the premises has dining space for about 130 people, with a function room which can hold about 100 people.
A ‘‘soft opening’’ was planned for the Bullock Restaurant and Bar rather than a big function, Mason said.
The Texas roadhouse-themed Lone Star restaurant and bar on Sophia St closed after about three years, despite the national director of the franchise saying sales in the city were strong.
The project had been a long time coming to fruition, and the duo were looking forward to the challenge of opening a new business, Mason said.
When it came to the decor inside the premises, nothing would change straight away but it would be gradually altered.