Ben and Leah Crowley, new owners of The Alley, formerly Pie Alley Blues Yeppoon

The popular venue has undergone some renovations including a fresh lick of paint and a new bar. See what else is planned for the space here.

Ben and Leah Crowley behind their newly renovated bar at The Alley, Yeppoon.

There’s a hot new bar to go to in Yeppoon as the former Pie Alley Blues venue on James Street has undergone some renovations.

Rebranding the space as The Alley, the new owners, Yeppoon locals Ben and Leah Crowley, gutted the inside and brightened it up with some fresh paint, lights and a new bar and coffee machine.

“We wanted it to be inclusive, we just wanted a platform and a place where everyone could feel welcome,” Leah said.

The husband and wife duo bought mobile bar hire business Kombi Keg Capricorn a year ago and were looking to expand that when Pie Alley Blues went up for sale.

“This came up and Ben just said ‘let’s have a look at it’,” Leah said.

And so they did and they could see the potential in the place.

Bars are also in Leah’s blood, her grandfather was a publican and her Dad still is to this day at a pub in Hobart.

“Dad is extremely proud. Our whole family … when we told people what we were doing, everyone went ‘awesome, oh yeah that’s such a great fit for you’, no one said ‘you’re nuts’,” Leah said.

The venue is open for breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed Mondays) and is open for dinner and later nights on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The menu offers everything from your classic smashed avo to a pumpkin tahini salad, loaded fries or for dinner, a steak in a chimichurri sauce.

They have a focus on locally grown produce, using finger limes, pineapples, tomatoes, and homemade relishes from the area.

“We want it to have that homey feel with the lemon meringue pies, with the things I grew up on, and people really appreciate that we don’t have store bought things, everything is made here,” Leah said.

They even have the coldest beer in town – so much so they had to turn up the temperature because it was freezing the lines.

In the near future, the couple is looking to do some more renovations including erecting a roof over the alleyway.

“That will just allow it to be a true all-weather venue,” Ben said.

“It will still have lots of natural light and plants - to make it a bit of an oasis when it is 32C.”

The bar will remain a staple of the live music scene and they are looking to add more themed events, such as comedy nights, and also have a pride event coming up.