1800 Lasagne to open music bar, sandwich shop in Northcote

The owner of Thornbury's 1800 Lasagne will run three businesses along High Street by the end of the year, extending his signature Italo-nostalgia to the realm of sandwiches and a music bar.

Joey Kellock has snapped up two sites a few hundred metres away from his lasagne-focused restaurant, intending to fill gaps he sees in the buzzing neighbourhood's growing number of bars, restaurants and cafes. "The focus for me is to really add to the fabric of the community," he says.

The first project is a bar with a focus on performance and live music. Kellock has signed a lease on a double shopfront that was originally a watchmakers' workshop and features a dividing archway between the two rooms, plywood panels on the walls and other retro features that he intends to keep.

The two spaces mean performances can take place in one section, whether it's bands, electronic artists or DJs, while a snack trolley out front will dispense oysters and other snacks.

Kellock sums up the offering as, "Wines of the world, an artist space, a place for music and musicians, and snacky wonders".

The working title for the bar is Dopolavoro, the Italian word for "after work" and a common name for establishments in Italy. Building starts in two weeks and Kellock is confident it will be ready for spring.

Five doors away will be the sandwich shop, with a pun-tastic name of 1800 La-sanga. Fillings might be porchetta, cotoletta or even a slab of the lasagne that kickstarted Kellock's growing empire. The kitchen will also handle production for 1800 Lasagne. No opening date is set for that venue.

1800 Lasagne is at 653 High Street Thornbury, 1800lasagne.com.au. The forthcoming bar will open at 567-569 High Street, Northcote; 1800 La-sanga sandwich shop is planned for 555 High Street, Northcote.