Dunedin chefs Helen Mason and Grant Cockroft are yet to install the 33sq m kitchen in their Two Chefs Bistro in Lower Stuart St, but the couple, who ran the former Two Chefs restaurant in George St, are already fielding calls and have taken a small number of bookings.
"That has got to be a good sign. We've even had to turn away a Christmas booking for 18," Mr Cockroft said.
The couple, who trained at Otago Polytechnic and have worked in Australia and Dunedin, owned and operated their previous restaurant for seven years before closing it about two years ago, having come to the end of the lease and being unable to sell the business.
They said the Dunedin restaurant and bar scene had become hugely competitive, especially around the CBD, but the chance of attracting customers moving from one premises to another made another outlet viable.
"We always liked the thought of Stuart St. It has a real village atmosphere," Ms Mason said.
Having stored much of their chef equipment, they spent about three months travelling around France, which has provided some inspiration for the new venture.
The bistro would have a Parisian theme, but the cuisine would be "global bistro", Ms Mason said.
It would have a casual dining atmosphere.
The venue, with a small bar for diners, will have a 55-seat indoor capacity and a 16-seat outdoor capacity, and will employ nine full-time staff plus casuals when it opens in early November.
The former tenants of the building were Gloria and Cafe 119, whose spaces have been combined.
