The Bungalow: Opening of Ringwood venue at former Dakota site moved to mid-February

It used to be home to one of the most popular nightclubs in the eastern suburbs. But after a long wait the opening date for the latest hotspot has been released.

The hotly hyped opening of two venues at the site of a popular former Ringwood nightclub has been pushed back.

Owners of the former Dakota nightclub site on Maroondah Highway have delayed the public opening of The Bungalow beer garden until February 19.

Clubbers will have to wait a tiny bit longer, with the renamed Baby nightclub to open on the Labour Day long weekend in March.

Private functions have been held at The Bungalow and the Hyde function centre since late December, and all three venues at the site were slated to be up and running by the Australia Day weekend.

But owner Joe Cossari said an influx of private function bookings and capacity restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak had delayed the public opening.

“We don’t want to open at half capacity, we want to open with a bang,” Mr Cossari said.

“But more importantly, there are lots of people away for the Australia Day weekend, and we’re not going to have the right impact.”

Ms Cossari said the venue would be “overrun” if it was to open this weekend, and he wanted to safely manage crowds while providing a fun experience.

“We’re red hot on adhering to the covid restrictions and distancing, and we want to do that properly,” he said.

“If we have a group of 20 or so, we can adhere to all the restrictions without it being a mess, but if we open the doors, we’ll have people everywhere,” he said.

Mr Cossari said a well-known former AFL footballer had booked out The Bungalow and Hyde for a private function on January 23, with an “enormous” guestlist.

He said members of the public could also book in functions for a minimum of 20 guests until the public opening of the venue in mid-February.