The Dunedin City Council has granted resource consent to Concord Inn 2015 Ltd for a proposed expansion of the Concord Inn, at 12 Main South Rd, Green Island.
Co-owner Jane Downing said the business was a family-style bar and restaurant that accommodated everyone from "babies to 100-year-olds".
The pub was constructed in 1989 by DB Breweries, and the site previously housed a church and a Four Square supermarket, Ms Downing said.
The pub was quite small at present, and they were getting so many customers they were having to turn some of them away.
The proposed changes would be some of the most significant since the building was built, she said.
"The outside of it is going to look completely different. There’s going to be a lot of woodwork on the outside and it’s going to have character.
"People know that it’s the Concord Inn — we’re just going to give it a bit of an upgrade really."
The upgrades were "pretty significant" — amounting to nearly $500,000 — and would "basically double" the size of the restaurant.
The current deck would be enclosed, in order to host private functions, and an area beside the bar would be expanded.
A new deck would also be constructed and an expansion of the kitchen was in the works for later down the line — along with the odd piece of auto-themed memorabilia he hoped would serve as conversation starters.
Work started about three weeks ago and was expected to be completed around February next year, Mr Bremner said.
Ms Downing said the upgrades meant they would not have to turn people away any more, and the changes had so far been met with excitement from patrons.
"We’re doing it for them to make it better place for them.
"I think the customers are going to love it — I think they can’t wait."
