The venue’s popularity was perfectly illustrated on Wednesday night when a ‘half opening’ turned into a mid-week celebration for around 150 locals.

Owner Danny Gray said he was excited to showcase the extensive improvements - including a new air-conditioned dining area, stage and band room, indoor big screen and bar - to its loyal following.

“It’s going to be big,” he said.

“When St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday it’s usually massive so we’re preparing for a big one.

“The pub is 85 per cent finished and people will see it evolve over the next couple of weeks, but we were never going to let that stop us for St Pat's day.”

A full line-up of bands will grace the new stage for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations with fan favourites The Kroovs, Shannon Hunter and Gregg Buchanan firing up from 2pm.

Gray said punters will notice some considerable changes immediately.

“The bar is a lot bigger and the old smoking area is now part of a bigger dining and band room,” he said.

“There is a new 100-inch big screen inside, so we will have a much better focus on live sport.

“We can now have a band playing outside and the footy on the inside in air-conditioning, or vice versa.

“We’ll also be able to get some bigger bands as well as we can close the doors, it’s almost a small band room now.

“It makes it a lot more flexible with how we can use the space.”

A new food menu is currently being developed with a new chef arriving from Ireland next month.

“The area is a real dining space now,” Gray said.

“We were a bit limited with that before, but we now have an ability to do a lot more with our food and people can sit inside and eat in air-conditioned comfort, which is a big advantage.
  

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* Start St Patrick's day right with Cafe Fresq cooking up their annual Mini Full Irish Breakfast for $15 today! Get your greens out and get to Fresq on Grant Street from 7am to line those stomachs before heading up to Paddy's from 11am for plenty of Guinness!

For more information visit Cafe Fresq Facebook Page or call 4099 6111

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