After a year-long search and countless rumours of interested parties stretching from marketing mogul John Singleton to a variety of licensed clubs, the lease for the Medowie Centre has gone to a respected local family in the hospitality industry.
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Ben and Charlie Way signed a three-year lease (with options) with Port Stephens Council for the ratepayer-funded facility following a special meeting of council held last Tuesday night.
Neither party would divulge the sum but the Ways have committed to investing heavily into their new project which they hope to have opened by mid-January.
The Ways are two of the partners in the highly-successful Little Beach Boathouse restaurant in Nelson Bay, and the experienced pair plan to rename the former sporting and community club to simply Medowie Social.
An executive chef with cooking experience overseas, Ben Way said he hoped to create a special atmosphere for locals by offering great food, beverage and functions. The couple hope to employ up to 30 staff.
"We've lived in Port Stephens for over 20 years and we're now raising a young family in Medowie, so we're passionate about the future of this growing town and supporting our local tourism industry," Mr Way said.
"With Medowie Social, we really want to create an affordable and quality venue that caters for young and old alike, where our community feels welcome. We also plan to have a strong focus on local sporting groups and creating a friendly environment for celebrations, fundraising and presentations," wife Charlie added.
The facility would be open for community, social and sporting group meetings and functions, as well as fundraisers, theme nights and calendar events. The Friday night twilight markets are expected to commence on December 4.
And of course there's the bowling green for lawn bowls enthusiasts.
Cr Chris Doohan, a strong support of the facility since its inception, said that he was excited to have reached this milestone.
"We have worked extremely hard, against all odds to pull this off and now we are here. Medowie is about to receive a top notch centre that will give the town a modern family friendly facility the sporting, social and community groups can call home and be proud of.
"This will be the ency of many other towns in Port Stephens and I cannot wait to watch it flourish into the vision that many of us have worked so hard to achieve."
Situated in Ferodale Road, the complex includes multipurpose events spaces, bistro, bar, synthetic bowls green, fenced children's playground and 100 car parking spaces.
