Part of Watton Street will be transformed into an alfresco dining precinct on the weekend, with food available from 15 different venues.
Wyndham council’s West End Experience will transform the western end of the street, between the Bridge Hotel and Wedge Street, with outdoor dining furniture, umbrellas, greenery and comfortable spots to relax.
A Wyndham Cultural Centre pop-up, live tunes from local musicians, neon artworks from Carla O’Brien and sparkling festoon lighting will complete the experience.
Wyndham mayor Adele Hegedich said the West End Experience was one of several council initiatives aimed at supporting businesses after the devastating effects of COVID-19 restrictions.
“As restrictions continue to ease, Wyndham City is working with businesses to make it as easy as possible to welcome people safely back to our city centres, while meeting social distancing and density requirements,” Cr Hegedich said.
“When local Werribee businesses came to us with the idea for the West End Experience, we were excited by the opportunity to pilot this new outdoor dining concept.
“Across the world, cities have embraced new modes of alfresco dining and here in Wyndham we want to make it as easy and as practical as possible for businesses to be able to bring the café and restaurant experiences we love, outside.”
Participating local restaurants include the Bridge Hotel, Truckstop Deluxe, Ages Pizza Place, Mama Lor, Teddy Picker and Corked.
Each venue will have an outdoor seating area available for bookings, with a smaller area for walk-up dining and QR code check-ins.
Attendees have been encouraged to make a booking with their choice of restaurant.
Wyndham’s creative city portfolio holder, Cr Marcel Mahfoud said: “This is all about bringing people back to our much-loved town centres and shopping strips, ensuring our businesses can bounce back as quickly and as safely as possible.”
The council will stage other “activation” events on one weekend per month until February, with a four-day activation over the long weekend in March.
The West End Experience will take place on Friday from 5-11pm Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday 11am-9pm. Details: wyndham.vic.gov.au/westendexperience
