WHAT\u2019S your preferred way to enjoy a museum or gallery outing?<\/p>\n
Many of those visiting, working for, or volunteering at the Art Gallery of Ballarat have historically taken advantage of the building\u2019s Lydiard Street-facing caf\u00e9 space, sitting down for a bite of lunch, a cake, and coffee.<\/p>\n
But for the last year, since the city\u2019s \u2018cake queen\u2019 Sara Kittelty vacated the shopfront, it\u2019s been hospitality-free.<\/p>\n
Gallery director Louise Tegart said the arts community, and local regular customers, have missed the venue dearly, so it\u2019s time to bring some life, good food and caffeine back to the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter multiple lockdowns, we\u2019re now calling for a new caf\u00e9 operator that\u2019s ready to work closely with the Gallery in establishing a business that\u2019s going to complement the experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVisitors have an expectation of the whole gallery experience; looking at art, the shop, and having a coffee, so the caf\u00e9 is integral to our offering.\u201d<\/p>\n
With an established commercial kitchen and equipment, the space is ready for an operator to put \u201ctheir stamp\u201d on it as soon as the tender application process concludes.<\/p>\n
The successful business could attract 200,000 annual Gallery visitors, and cater for the organisation\u2019s evening events.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cafe also has its core own audience of local people, like our 40 guides, but being in the centre of town within the heritage precinct, and near GovHub, it can establish its own identity outside the Gallery,\u201d Ms Tegart said.<\/p>\n
Applications for the three-year lease can be made to the City of Ballarat by Sunday, 15 August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHAT\u2019S your preferred way to enjoy a museum or gallery outing? Many of those visiting, working for, or volunteering at the Art Gallery of Ballarat have historically taken advantage of the building\u2019s Lydiard Street-facing caf\u00e9 space, sitting down for a bite of lunch, a cake, and coffee. But for the last year, since the city\u2019s […]<\/p>\n