Ellacure in Bruce to reopen as craft beer pub Stanley's

For almost a decade, Ellacure served up modern Italian in Bruce in Canberra's north. So when the restaurant closed for Christmas 2016 and didn't reopen, it left locals wondering what was to come.

The answer? A new craft beer pub named after the country's eighth prime minster.

Owner Jeremy Kidson said Stanley's will be Bruce's new "local".

"We don't want to be known as a pub or a cafe or a bar - we're just a local. So if you're around here and you want to have a coffee, we'll make a good coffee. If you want to have a beer and a sneaky read of a books on the shelves here, you can," he says.

"You can have lunch, dinner, bring the family in. So that's what we want to be - about the community."

Opening next weekend the venue will serve an all-day menu, by chef Christian Allwell, from 11am til late, Thursday to Monday. Food includes pub classics, from steaks to pizzas and schnitzels, plus a special 'Stanley's classics' menu of 1920s-themed dishes, like an Irish stew cob loaf.

Kids are also catered for with their own menu, and with three kids of his own, Kidson says, "families are most welcome at all times".

The venue has a focus on local craft beers, with Zierholz, Pact Beer and Capital Brewing on tap, plus a rotating fourth guest tap. Wine is also predominantly from the Canberra region.

Kidson said they wanted to name the pub after former prime minister Stanley Bruce - a nod to the namesake of the suburb of Bruce, and also his connection to Canberra.

"He was the first chancellor of ANU, and he was the key figure in bringing government to Canberra - he opened Old Parliament House," says Kidson.

"He lived in England for the last part of his life, and his dying wish was he wanted to go on and have his ashes scattered in Lake Burley Griffin. So he lives here."

The space has been given a complete overhaul with a new layout, monochrome colours and recycled timber panelling. There's a large photo of the venue's namesake, and a black and white mural of the Civic bus interchange in the 1960s behind the bar.

There's two big screen TVs with Foxtel for sports viewing, and they also hope to attract a crowd before and after games at GIO Stadium across the road.

Stanley's opens on July 8 at 2/21 Battye St, Bruce.