A familiar face in Mildura's hospitality scene is getting ready to bring a new Australian-style pub to the heart of the city.
Malcolm Kalms is behind plans for Mildura's Pub, Sportsbar and Grill, which is set to take over the well-known venue at 45 Langtree Avenue, most recently home to Honey Bar and Heaven Lounge.
For Malcolm, it's also something of a return to familiar territory.
He previously operated The Sandbar from the same Langtree Avenue location and also ran the former Old O'Malley's pub, giving him plenty of experience behind some of Mildura's better-known watering holes.
This time around, Malcolm says the idea is to bring the venue back with a distinctly "Australian" style pub feel.
Pub, grill and plenty of sport
As the name suggests, the new venue will combine three pretty straightforward ingredients – a pub, a grill and a sports bar.
Rather than trying to reinvent what a pub should be, the concept is shaping up around the traditional Australian pub experience – somewhere to grab a meal, have a drink and catch the sport.
The prominent Langtree Avenue building already has plenty of history as an entertainment and hospitality venue, and Malcolm's previous Sandbar operation will still be familiar to many locals.
The Sandbar was particularly well known for its beer garden, meals and live entertainment and became a popular part of Mildura's hospitality scene during its time at the site.
Now Malcolm is preparing to put his own stamp on the building once again.
And for anyone who remembers the Sandbar days, seeing Malcolm back behind a pub at the same Langtree Avenue address might feel pretty familiar.
Targeting a December opening
The plan is currently to have Mildura's Pub, Sportsbar and Grill open in December, although an exact opening date hasn't yet been announced.
That would put the new venue into action just in time for summer and the Christmas holiday period.
There's still plenty we're yet to find out – including exactly what will be coming off the grill, how the sports bar will be set up and what other entertainment might be planned.
🍺 Australian-style pub
🥩 Grill
📺 Sports bar
📍 45 Langtree Avenue, Mildura
📅 Targeting a December opening
But the basic direction is pretty clear.
An Australian-style pub, grill and sports bar, run by someone with a long connection to Mildura's pub scene, is coming to one of Langtree Avenue's best-known hospitality locations.
And with Malcolm Kalms returning to the same building where he once ran The Sandbar, there'll no doubt be plenty of locals interested to see what he has planned this time around.
We'll keep an eye on this one as the opening gets closer.
