MILTON’S history has long been brought to life in so many ways, and a new business is continuing the tradition while combining the old and the new.
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While the Harvest Bar offers the latest in cuisine and caters for the latest socialising trends, the interior features bricks made nearly 150 years ago, and ironwork from one of Milton’s historic homes.
The business has been opened by Michael and Melanie Clare, along with daughter Erin, filling a much talked-about gap in the local hospitality and entertainment scene.
While it is a modern wine bar offering a range of James Squires beers and ciders on tap, along with wines and cocktails, they sit atop a bar built from bricks that were previously used to build the old Croobyar Public School in 1869.
Also featuring in the bar is ironwork from the home of Mr Mellick in Thomas Street, around the corner from the Harvest Bar’s location in Wason Street, Milton.
The iron work is among many things recycled and given new life in the bar.
A saloon sign also came from Mr Mellick’s wares, recycled fence palings have been used to create the kitchen, blackbutt slabs from Termeil have been used to make the bar, while buffalo skulls in the bar area have come all the way from South Australia.
It all adds up to an eclectic yet relaxed atmosphere, all accentuated by an interesting and diverse music mix playing through the bar’s sound system.
The small wine bar shows the benefits of 20 years of dreaming and planning from Michael and Melanie, who said they had been talking about opening their own place for a couple of decades.
They even saw an accountant 10 years ago to talk about the finances of opening their own place, but could not find the right place.
Throughout that time Michael continued managing licensed clubs locally, in the Illawarra and even in Queensland, but a cancer diagnosis added a bit more urgency to their dream of setting up their own business.
That led to looking at the space in The Chambers building, and Michael announcing “This is it.”
Since then they have worked at turning their dreams into reality, combining a great selection of wines, beers and cocktails with fantastic tapas food and shareboards, prepared by chef Jesse Nolan who had previously worked in Sydney and Tasmania, all served in a relaxed setting.
A licence to hold only 60 people at a time, who can order alcohol without food, helps ensure the relaxed and intimate atmosphere is maintained.
