Surreal was bought last winter by Quentin Nolan, owner of the local Snow Machine music festival, but under a separate company.
His new ground-floor gastro sports bar, called Local Queenstown, bears no resemblance to its predecessor.
There’s a new bar positioned along a side wall, and a larger outdoor patio on the same level as the interior.
Nolan says he was attracted to the Rees St venue — formerly owned for almost 26 years by local couple Mel and Erich Stadler — following the CBD streetscaping project.
"Now Rees St has been kind of rejuvenated, it’s nice to have some new venues down this part of town.
"We’re trying to bring it up a level with the kind of food and drinks and live music each day, and just create a nice environment."
Nolan says the next stage will be a rooftop bar — opened or closed to the elements with a louvretec system — that’ll be four times larger and also higher than its predecessor, and accessed by stairs from the front of the premises.
"You’ll be able to see over the top of Soda [opposite] straight down the lake."
This venue, which will also have a new, separate name, will also have a bar on the same floor rather than a level down.
Depending on consents, Nolan says construction of this stage will start in September or March.
