All change for Hastings Street

In a case of waiting for ages for a bus and then they all come at once, it's all go in Hastings Street at the moment. Not much ever changed in the sleepy seaside resort until June when celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita moved into Noosa and opened The Noosa Beach House. Now there are two more venues about to open in the street.

Rio Capurso, formerly of the much loved Lindoni's which closed in June due to the refurbishment of the Seahaven resort, is opening Locale at the end of September. Located under the French Quarter, the building, which has been vacant for three years, is being completely rebuilt, Capurso says, with a huge open kitchen with pizza oven and a "warm" modern fit out featuring lots of timber as well as a leafy front courtyard. A long, wide bar will offer around a dozen "cicchetti" (bar snacks) which will be rotated, while the dinner menu will be contemporary Italian. Locale will seat around 120.

Meanwhile, Sydney mixologist Ben Walsh is making a Hastings Street sea change to open Miss Moneypenny's. Former partner in Goldfish at King's Cross and still current co-owner of Goldfish in the Hunter Valley, Walsh says he's looking forward to their move from big city life. The site is currently undergoing a $2 million fit-out, with Walsh saying that it will be "high end without being stuffy" with organic tones and stone finishes. Entry will be via a wrap around bar area, where there will be a drinks list of what Walsh says will be "'80s cruise ship cocktails with a modern twist". The menu is Italian/Mediterranean, and with one of his chefs once operating a gourmet butchery, Walsh says there will be plenty of in-house cured charcuterie. He's not revealing his chefs' names just yet but says one is coming from a two-hatted Sydney restaurant, the other is local.

Miss Moneypenny's is due to open in November.