Clock and Bull: Construction to start on Toowoomba microbrewery and restaurant in Cabarlah

It’s been a long road, but a Toowoomba business owner says some changes worth nearly $1m has set him up to start work on renovating a classic venue north of the city.

The man hoping to transform a famous venue north of Toowoomba into a microbrewery and tourism spot has revealed when work will begin.

Damien Matthews says his revamp of the old Black Forest Hill Cuckoo Clock Centre along the New England Highway at Cabarlah can move ahead after securing changes to his original development applications with the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Dubbed the Clock and Bull Brewhouse and Chowhouse, the venue will feature a brewery, bar, outdoor seated areas and restaurant.

The new designs, which create temporary structures to house the commercial kitchen, along with the removal of council conditions requiring the widening of the intersecting Evans Rd have reportedly saved Mr Matthews nearly $1m in construction costs.

Damien Matthews is the new owner of the Black Forest Hill in Cabarlah and hopes to transform it into the Clock and Bull Brewhouse. Monday, April 11, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

The business owner, who announced the move in April last year, said the changes would not alter the original vision of offering a mixture of German and Australian cuisine and beer.

“Rather than undertaking a permanent-type build, we’ll be using a modular system for our commercial kitchen,” Mr Matthews said.

“It’s all stuff that’s being used commonly in other hospitality places — we’ll lose nothing in terms of customer experience.

“We’ll seat 75-80 patrons and in addition, we’ll have our bar and brewery area.

“We’ve got about an acre we hope to landscape, and the brewery will open up to that garden, so it will be an indoor-outdoor restaurant.

“All up, with the changes, there’s close to $1m we’ve been able to pull out of the original estimate.”

LODGED: A new microbrewery, restaurant and shop, to be called the Cluck and Bull Brewhouse and Chowhouse, has been proposed inside the old Black Forest Cuckoo Clock Centre on New England Highway in Cabarlah.

Blades Joinery and Construction will carry out the renovations, with construction to kick off in February ahead of a potential May opening.

Mr Matthews said he would also be looking to retain the Australia Post services at the neighbouring tenancy that he also owns, after it was revealed the tenant D’becas Cafe and Catering was leaving.

“We’re going rejuvenate that building and make it into two separate tenancies — we’re currently in discussions with Australia Post, because that cafe did have the community postal outlet,” he said.

“AusPost is talking to us and we’re working through trying to continue that as a post office outlet, where we’re handling the mail and offering a more typical AusPost experience.”

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