A FORMER icon of the Coonamble main street has almost been fully-restored to its original appearance and the man behind the restoration hopes it will help the town stand out from the crowd to tourists passing through.

The Monterey Café first opened in the mid-1930s in the aftermath of the 1929 fire which tore through many buildings on Coonamble's main street. 

The original site, a fruit shop owned by the Jier family, was speculated as the source of the electrical fault which began the blaze.

It was built and operated by brothers Con and George Anastopoulos, inspired by a well know café in central Athens, Greece that they’d marvelled at in their childhood.

The Monterey still belongs in the family, in the hands of long term local resident, Renée Leonard - daughter of George.

Renée's son Michael Leonard said he understands the Monterey was a much-loved attraction of the town.

"From what I've been told, it was very popular and it sort of worked hand in glove with the Plaza Theatre," Mr Leonard said.

"A lot of people from around the district used to call in to watch a film and then come over here during intermission and afterwards to have a meal and socialise in the space. It’s a big space, seating around 100 and it was busy…I’ve been told people would be queuing up in the main street to get in”.

With the café’s opening occurring around the Great Depression Mr Leonard described the menu as "simple fare" and "of the time".

"The classic dish was pies peas and gravy, then they had Peters ice cream served from the bar area. Also very popular was a drink known as a 'black and tan', which was pretty much a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some cola and something else in it," he said.

"Apparently a lot of school kids used to come in here as well when there were no canteens operating. They had a lunch special on for school kids and so they would come in to have a sit-down lunch at the booths and play up of course!”

ABOVE: The Monterey Cafe was once a popular attraction for the Coonamble township. Image courtesy of Michael Leonard.

After George Anastopolous' passing in 1957, Con moved to Athens leaving Vic Casamatis and his wife Heather Hughes to run the Café.

Locals may also recall a Chinese restaurant, a clothing shop and, more recently, Outback Arts operating in the space.

It has remained empty for the last few years, however Mr Leonard decided last year to restore the building to use as the venue for his father’s (Mick Leonard) 100th birthday celebrations.

He said there were a lot of sentimental reasons behind the restoration, however, with the intent of preserving as much of the original interior as possible, it was also an exciting experience for him.

"It was all a bit of a treasure hunt for me, just taking back the facade and bringing all this back to life," he said.

"I've never actually seen it like this, I'd only just heard about it and I was just working off a couple of old photos, trying to be as authentic and true as I could to the original.

"I think that its point of difference is the fact that it is still in original condition, I didn't want to alter it. The only thing we added were the replica ceiling lights and copper conduit piping for the wall lights”.

ABOVE: Most of the building's original timber work and layout has stayed the same as it once was all those decades ago.

Despite never having done any restoration work, Mr Leonard began the project in September on the floors, with the aim of using as many local tradespeople, and materials as he could.

Miraculously, much of the timber work had been preserved and integrated into the new site.

Other original features include the art-deco patterned Wunderlich tin ceiling, overhead fans, booths (a combination of 1930s beveled glass mirrors, Tasmania Oak timber seating and 1950s green laminate tabletops) and long marble bar.

Being based in Sydney, and with NSW going in and out of lockdown due to COVID, Mr Leonard said that progress was slow at times.

However, this allowed for different stories to emerge with people popping in to see what was going on and recounting memories of the old café, from first dates to the first time a person was slapped in the face by their girlfriend.

Mick Leonard's centenary gathering took place on Saturday April 23 and Michael said Mick and Renée were both very emotional to see the space alive again.

"I think it's just a stunning space, you don't see stuff like this anymore and I think most people in the town would respect that rarity," he said.

The building isn't completely restored yet, with the kitchen still unfinished and the refrigeration unit of the bar around 90 per cent complete.

Mr Leonard said the major focus until now had been the interior restoration and a major clean-up outside, however the future of the Monterey building was yet to be determined.

ABOVE: Not a lot of work has been done out the back of the building, however Mr Leonard says he sees it more of a break-out space to prevent the interior from getting overcrowded.