Reborn Awaba House ready to open doors after $7.8 million restoration

More than seven years after it was gutted by fire, the reborn Awaba House is finally ready to open its doors to the public next week.

Lake Macquarie City Council will formally open the Booragul building on Friday for a private event before the cafe begins serving coffee and food from Monday.

The casual-fine dining restaurant is due to open on November 5.

The council-owned building was heavily damaged by fire in August 2019, believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault.

It's been a drawn-out saga to revive the historic building, which was built in 1927.

The initial tenders for the rebuild were estimated to be about $5.2 million, but the total bill for the project blew out to $7.8 million.

Last December the council announced that the Sydney-based The Catering Group, founded in 2019 by catering guru Greg Barclay and chef Adham Aston, had signed a five-year lease, with a five-year option, to run Awaba House's cafe and restaurant.

Awaba House was supposed to open by mid-2026 but was delayed over the final approval of the kitchen and cafe fitout.

The Catering Group's functions and events manager, Corey Wilson, said it was exciting to finally reopen Awaba House.

"It's been a very long process getting it back open, but we're finally there," Mr Wilson said. "The venue is ready to go.

"They're doing the final cleanup at the moment, and then the teams start coming in over the next couple of days."

The northern and western facades, porch, verandah and chimney were retained, and other spaces such as the foyer, lounge room and inglenook were restored or reconstructed in keeping with the building's late-1920s character.

Mr Wilson said The Catering Group had chosen to embrace Awaba House's history as part of the fitout, even its recent disastrous past.

The opening hallway of the venue will feature photographs and artworks of Awaba House through the years.

"The heritage parts have remained exactly where they were, and it looks incredible the way we designed the venue," he said.

"All the new furniture and everything that we've done with it complements the heritage parts of the venue.

"A lot of the burns that were there with the fire are still there, and it looks incredible."

A council spokesperson said the reopening of Awaba House would further enhance the tourist opportunities of Booragul, which also houses the neighbouring Museum of Art and Culture, yapang.

"The opening of a new hospitality venue of the calibre of Awaba House adds to Lake Macquarie's vibrant food and drink offering for locals and visitors," they said.

"The addition of a premium dining experience to the MAC yapang precinct now makes it a complete visitor experience.

"Visitors will be able to tour the gallery, attend an artist workshop, explore the sculpture park, join a cruise tour from the nearby jetty and dine at Awaba House."

The licensed cafe will operate seven days a week from 7am to 3pm for walk-in customers. The menu will feature classic breakfast options and toasties, pasta, burgers, salads and fish and chips at lunch.

The restaurant will be open Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.