Frolic Lane owners celebrate renovations completion ahead of grand opening

Local tradespeople worked to restore Frolic Lane, a multi-level cocktail and wine bar to its former glory.

The Prohibition-era themed project is a joint venture between long-time publican Mark McIlroy and his partner Shahne Wilkinson and Port Fairy builder Brian Atkins and his wife Jann Atkins who helped Mr McIlroy and Ms Wilkinson's vision become a reality.

Mr McIlroy said Mr Atkins' passion for his trade and attention to detail saw the building restored "perfectly".

One of those features was a historic archway they found upstairs and had restored with another replica arch crafted to match installed in the venue.

He said the works were extensive. They knocked out walls, removed ceilings and installed new acoustic ceilings, new flooring and new toilets in three areas. "It was rewired, replumbed, rebuilt, the whole thing," he said.

"It was a lot bigger project than we imagined," Mr McIlroy said. "I think our budget got blown out by three, almost four times. Once we got into it we started to realise how much work it was.

"It was really important for us to keep the integrity and bring it back to its former glory. It's our vision of its former glory but it's where we wanted to go to celebrate the vintage of the building.

"We've done that in a traditional style downstairs and we've gone to a more modern reflection of it upstairs with our light fittings and things but that's the point of difference," Mr McIlroy said.

The owners said the end result was better than they could have ever imaged and were looking forward to its grand opening on Saturday night.

The venue is open to the public from 8pm Saturday with a Melbourne pianist and jazz musicians playing to usher in the venue's new era.

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