Beaufort Motors site to undergo restoration to become restaurant

Planning applications are before Pyrenees Shire Council for works to the historic Beaufort Motors site, set on the highway through the town.

The site had long been home to a cafe, including the past five years as Skinny Sisters Cafe until its closure a fortnight ago.

New operators The Flywheel Bar and Cafe started serving from the site on Wednesday, calling in popular Melbourne-brand ST.ALi coffee for customers' java hit.

Documents before council show plans to expand the existing cafe area into a larger restaurant space and bar, with new large glass doors opening into the adjoining car park.

While the existing cafe space has a liquor licence, the application features a bid for an extended general liquor licence into an outdoor space.

A statement from the National Trust declares the motor mechanics garage was built about 1933 and was likely designed by Geelong architects Laird and Buchan.

The National Trust has found this site, formerly Wilson's Beaufort Garage, and the former Beaufort Service Station next door, are among the few examples left in Victoria that are designed in Spanish style.

Wilson's is noted for its tall, elaborate baroque scrolled facade and geometric tiling.

"The existence of two early garages, both architecturally notable versions of the same style, side by side, is remarkable, and unique in Victoria," according to the National Trust statement included in the planning application.

"They are also of interest for their physical relationship to each other, graphically demonstrating competition in the motor trade.

"Wilson's Garage was constructed after the Beaufort Garage, and is larger and set further forward with a higher more elaborate facade, and completely obscures views of the Beaufort Garage by motorists coming into the town from Ballarat."

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There is a heritage overlay on the site. Proposed restoration works include a change of colour in exterior paint in a "subtle" refresh that should not impact on heritage value or significantly standout in the streetscape.

The vacant lot next door has traditionally been a shared car park with a cafe on the other side of the space. This lot was the former site for the Beaufort Theatre and Dance Hall.

Beaufort, a town with two pubs, has a growing cafe and cultural scene with continued efforts to keep the town thriving with the highway marked for an eventual Beaufort by-pass.

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