It's the pub so popular you have to cross the road to the hockey centre just for a park. The place with craft beer on tap and glowing fireplaces in winter- and there's going to be more of it.
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An application with the ACT Planning and Land Authority has been lodged for the 162-year-old Old Canberra Inn in Lyneham to redeveloped later this year.
The Meem Collective, which has leased the inn since 2015, has lodged plans to extend the kitchen, create more bathroom facilities and spruce up the inn's rear beer gardens. Local design firm Lekkier is at the helm.
The company's development application, out for public comment until February 25, outlines plans to demolish the cool room structure, extend the kitchen, add a new cool room and new dry store, and build a new outdoor shade structure and seating.
In all, 38 square metres of the current floor area will be demolished, with an extra 86 square metres to replace it. The application says the development will cost $334,000.
According to the proposal, accessible, ambulant and unisex toilets will be built "to better accommodate the diverse users" of the Old Canberra Inn and create an "inclusive community hub".
“The Old Canberra Inn is over 150 years old and we want to ensure our venue is inclusive and accessible for everyone and to do that we need to make some improvements," the Meem Collective's Ben Johnston said.
The building was originally constructed in 1857 by Joseph Schumack, and in 1876, as per its namesake, it began operating as an inn.
Several changes in ownership later, The Old Canberra Inn was leased in 2015 by the Meem Collective who revamped the site into a "family friendly venue".
The inn also previously served as a coach stop on the road between Yass and Queanbeyan, but now it's a stop on the way to flavour town with its large pub meals satisfying palates all over the capital.
“Our chefs have done an outstanding job in a very small kitchen and we’re looking forward to rewarding them with better facilities and likewise our patrons will appreciate the new toilets with disability access and change tables," Mr Johnston said.
The kitchen will be extended, and new storage facilities and an integrated coolroom and keg-room structure will be added.
The Old Canberra Inn employs more than 40 people.
While the building is not listed on the ACT Heritage Register due to the number of refurbishments previously carried out, consideration will be taken to ensure the project will "protect the integrity" of the old site and existing materials will be salvaged where possible.
