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An iconic Dunedin bar will open its doors once again.

The Captain Cook Tavern will reopen after closing its doors late last year.

Former Chicks Hotel operator Mike McLeod will take over the running of the bar and venue with an emphasis on live music.

It will still be owned by the same investors who bought the bar after it closed in 2013, spending an undisclosed amount of money to transform the run-down tavern into a modern gastro-pub.

Mr McLeod there was a lack of live music venues in Dunedin and hoped the tavern could return to more of a culture hub for the city, as it was in the 1980's.

"I'm certainly nervous about certain aspects of it and it's a bit of risk for me but at the same time I'm excited about the opportunities and Dunedin is in dire need of a live music venue at
the moment.''

The gastro-pub downstairs at the venue would remain, Mr McLeod said.

"It's certainly not going to be a return to the student haunt it was in the 2000's.''

The venue's first live performance under Mr McLeod's management will be a Connan

Mockasin show on February 2.