One of Ballarat's most prominent venues is set to reopen with a brand new look as the former Highlander and Peter Lalor Hotel is transformed into Mister Lalors Social Club.
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After being forced to close due to an internal plumbing issue and COVID lockdowns, the venue on the corner of Mair and Doveton streets will reopen next Friday with a more laidback atmosphere.
The inspiration for Mister Lalors came partially from the bars of Fitzroy and Collingwood, but upscaling the experience somewhat.
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The goal of the reimagining is to create an atmosphere where people are encouraged to mingle and socialise, play pool, foosball or an arcade machine, enjoy local craft beer and cheap eats.
The new decor also features local artists, including a large mural created by Main Road tattooist Hamish Hamilton.
General manager Mikayla Donohue said the forced closure was a good opportunity to rethink the venue.
"We're probably more focused on your early-20s to mid-30s here now. Of course, anyone's always welcome if they want to be here but that's our target audience at the moment," she said.
"It's completely unpretentious with good local craft beers, cheap eats. Just a bit of fun, really, because the world's gotten a bit serious lately."
Mister Lalors marks another coat of paint on the venue which, as the Peter Lalor Hotel, was a popular karaoke venue.
The Peter Lalor Hotel closed in 2015 before being sold to artist David Bromley in 2017 and becoming The Pub With Two Names.
It was put on the market again in 2019 and sold to Chris Molloy, who also owns The Farmers Arms in Creswick, and became The Highlander. Most recently, the space next door opened as late-night hotspot The Stables.
Part of the plans for Mister Lalors is to bring back karaoke nights, along with other monthly events.
"We're going to run monthly events ranging from trivia, karaoke, uni nights, pool competitions, things like that," Ms Donohue said.
"Every weekend, we'll have DJs and things like that... Obviously not as loud and not as clubby because you still want to be able to have a conversation and hang out but enough that you can have a little bit of a boogie if you want to."
Ms Donohue said Mister Lalors' cocktail menu was an exciting part of the venue's offering, including a rum-based espresso martini made with Dead Man's Fingers coffee rum, 'boozy' butterscotch and coffee.
"We're taking some of the more traditional stuff and then we're making them a bit more exciting, a bit more targeted towards that age demographic that we're after and giving them quirky names to make them a bit more fun," she said.
"Just a really relaxed, cool place to come hang out with mates, that's all we want to do. Unpretentious, lots of fun."
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