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Iain 'Huey' Hewitson opens South Melbourne diner

Hilary McNevin and Roslyn Grundy

Rock'n'roll:  Iain Hewitson at his new venture Big Huey's Diner.
Rock'n'roll: Iain Hewitson at his new venture Big Huey's Diner.Paul Jeffers

Chef and restaurateur Iain ''Huey'' Hewitson opened Big Huey's Diner in South Melbourne last week with business partners and front-of-house professionals Neil Prentice and Nic Hope.

Hewitson, who co-owns St Kilda's Barney Allen's, has a long-term partnership with Prentice dating from Champagne Charlie's in the 1980s, where Prentice worked for Huey; Hope was most recently Hewitson's bar manager at Barney Allen's. The three have taken over what was formerly the Red Star Cafe in Coventry Street.

Expect a dining room, designed by Hewitson, dedicated to 1950s and '60s rock'n'roll - a great passion of all the owners - including a 1959 Rock-Ola jukebox and images around the walls of performers from Jimi Hendrix to Tiny Tim. ''It's our version of an American-inspired diner,'' says Prentice, who, as a winemaker, will feature his label, Holly's Garden, on the drinks list. The menu includes ''po' boys, hush puppies, Reuben sandwich and the chip butty'', he says.

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Big Huey's Diner is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am, with plans to open daily.

Details: 315 Coventry Street, South Melbourne, bighueysdiner.com.au

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Roslyn GrundyRoslyn Grundy is Good Food's deputy editor and the former editor of The Age Good Food Guide.

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