Patrons at Knox Ozone beer bar The Bavarian forced to use public toilets

DRINKERS are struggling to hold in their anger over a new beer bar which has no toilets, forcing customers to use public facilities in a nearby laneway.

The Bavarian bar in Knox Ozone serves steins of beer but hasn’t got a toilet. Picture: James Ross

A STREAM of complaints over toilets at Knox Ozone has prompted German beer bar The Bavarian to defend its lack of loos.

The German beer hall and restaurant opened earlier this month and has drawn concerns from some punters about having to leave the venue to go to public toilets in a nearby laneway.

The venue seats 250 people and has 17 types of beer on tap, including one-litre steins.

The previous restaurant on the site, Bar Bosh, had its own toilets.

Several people raised the issue on Knox Leader’s Facebook page, with Glen Sheppard saying: “A pub with no toilets, surely this is a piss take”.

Drinkers at The Bavarian in Knox Ozone are expected to use this public toilet in a nearby laneway. Picture: James Ross

David Logan said: “Beer in steins and no bathrooms. Bunch of savages in this town”.

Rob Parker added: “No toilets within the bar, you have to leave and use public toilets located near JB Hi-Fi. I thought for a restaurant that serves alcohol and food, they legally must provide toilets within the venue?”

But in a statement, Rachel Lebihan, a spokeswoman for Bavarian owner Rockpool, said under the Building Code of Australia, if toilets were provided in shopping malls and were close enough, there was no obligation to install them in a restaurant.

She said the nearest public toilets to The Bavarian were 20m away.

It’s not clear how many other eateries in Knox Ozone also share the communal toilets.

Knox Council city development director Angelo Kourambas said the provision of toilets was made through the building rather than permit process and required a restaurant or bar to have one toilet for every 100 men, one urinal for every 50 men and one pan for every 25 women.

These must be “in a convenient location”, and in this case a private building surveyor determined the number of toilets needed, Mr Kourambas said.

“It is noted that there are communal toilets within the Ozone precinct that serve a number of restaurant premises,” Mr Kourambas said.

Mr Kourambas said the surveyor who made the decision on the toilet requirements was Kym Rowland from Tecon Australia.

The Leader has contacted Mr Rowland and Westfield Knox for comment.