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Ovest pizzeria to open in West Footscray

Hilary McNevin

Alex Rogers of Sourdough Kitchen (right) and chef Ben Sisley outside the former bank, where they will open Ovest in 2015.
Alex Rogers of Sourdough Kitchen (right) and chef Ben Sisley outside the former bank, where they will open Ovest in 2015.Luis Ascui

Pizza gets another spin in the inner-west with news that Alex Rogers, owner and baker of Seddon's Sourdough Kitchen, is joining forces with chef Ben Sisley to open pizzeria Ovest (Italian for west). It's taken Rogers two years of negotiation to secure the lease on the old bank at 572 Barkly Street, West Footscray. "But it's such a great building it's worth it," he says.

The pair aim to offer westsiders a comfortable and welcoming place to eat and drink, "and to give the west something that you might find in the city or St Kilda".

Rogers and Sisley met in the 1990s, when they cooked together at long-gone St Kilda restaurant Madame Joe Joe. Sisley has been food styling for the past two years and before that was head chef at Karen Martini's St Kilda pizza joint Mr Wolf. He's now heading back to the kitchen, where pizza will form the menu's core.

The large dining room will be designed by Fitzroy-based architects Mike and Louisa Macleod, with graphic designers Ortolan engaged to create Ovest's logo and branding.

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Matt Paul, from wine importers Trembath & Taylor, is putting together the drinks list, which will feature Italian and Australian wines.

Rogers and Sisley plan to open Ovest for dinner Tuesday to Sunday from late January, with lunch a possibility in future.

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