When the pub, founded in 1860, shut its doors in June, there were fears it would remain closed for good, but the building's owners are working to ensure the famed student watering hole lives on.
Gregory Paterson, one of three directors of Orari Street Properties Investments Ltd which owns the building, said it had hired Elliott Architects Queenstown to draw up plans to split the building up between a bar and a restaurant.
It was ''too early'' to say with certainty whether their plans would come to fruition, but potential tenants had shown ''strong interest''.
''Nothing is definite, because nothing is signed,'' Mr Paterson said.
It would also depend on what engineers found after examining the building.
However, he was confident the Cook would be saved, saying: ''It's all looking quite good, to be honest.''
The plan, as it stood now, involved keeping the corner of the ground floor and upstairs as a bar and having a separate restaurant taking up the remaining ground-floor area, he said.
They also wanted to remove the large ''back of house'' area, which faces Albany St, opening up the building to more sun. Earthquake strengthening would also be carried out.
If the plans ''came off'', the work would probably cost ''millions'', he said.
''It's fair to say it will be much better than it was [when it closed].''
Asked why they planned to split up the site, he said: ''The Cook was too big and it catered solely on booze.
"Preloading and discount booze out of supermarkets has completely changed the culture of drinking.''
Architect Ed Elliott said he and the owners wanted to put the ''character'' back into the pub. The pub would be ''far more intimate'' than it was, he said.
