Video tour shows daunting task of renovating The Henry Austin

YOU can take away the tables, the food and the diners, but you can’t take away the charm of the former Chesser Cellars restaurant.

YOU can take away the tables, the food and the diners, but you can’t take away the charm of the building once inhabited by Chesser Cellar restaurant.

The entrance is still defined by steps that lead to two beautiful glass doors. Inside, the original chandeliers hang tiredly and chalk has been all but wiped away on the blackboards that once listed the day’s lunch specials.

The space is vast. Three levels, including a cellar and upstairs function space. There’s also potential for an alfresco dining area.

Chesser Cellar restaurant prior to its closure in 2012. Pic: Campbell Brodie

Needless to say, renovation of the building, to reclaim its original name as The Henry Austin, is a big project.

Being partly heritage listed brings its own set of challenges. If one of those chandeliers is replaced, they all need to be replaced.

Charismatic personality Max Mason and Tess Footner, both known in the food industry, won the rent-free lease for the site through Renew Adelaide.

But the project isn’t cheap.

Mason, the major investor, expects costs to reach $160,000 — up from the $60,000 he originally forecast.

No surprise, then, that he is spending just about every breathing moment in the building, rallying troops to help him paint the weary walls, letting workers in and out, and all the while spruiking the progress on social media. His dog, Pho Shizzle (yes, that’s her name), keeps him company in quieter hours.

Renew Adelaide's Lily Jacobs with old bottles and drink menu cards from the old Chesser Cellar restaurant. Pic: Matt Turner

In the end, the new The Henry Austin will feature a 200-seat restaurant and bar area, a takeaway section (expect tiffin tins) and upstairs private dining area for 40 people. There's vision to transform a rear parking lot into an alfresco eating area sometime next year.

Food will be modern Australian meets yum cha, with little coloured plates co-ordinating to a price point rotated around tables. There is also a long, high table for those who prefer a “feed me” option.

Chef Shane Wilson, formerly of Waymouth Street’s Bistro Dom, will take the reigns in the kitchen.

Primo Caon in the building’s cellar, prior to his closing the restaurant in 2012

There will also be wine. Lots of it. A 10,000-bottle cellar occupies the basement, and there will be a premium “Primo Room”, paying tribute to former restaurateur Primo Caon, who ran Chesser Cellar from 1990-2012. The restaurant opened in 1964.

To share his journey, Mason has created a video tour of the site — take a peek. And mark June 1 in your diaries, because that’s when Mason and Footner will reopen those glass doors for all of Adelaide to see.

The exterior of Chesser Cellar restaurant in 1977

The exterior of the building, to reclaim its original name as The Henry Austin, as it stands today. Pic: Tricia Watkinson

WHO IS HENRY AUSTIN?

“An Irish Innkeeper’s son, who became an accountant... he’s being reborn as something way more classy.” - Max Mason