Two Melbourne icons are set to become one with Moon Dog Craft Brewery filing a planning application to build a new home on the former site of Franco Cozzo Footscray.
Moon Dog co-founder Karl van Buuren says they’ve been looking for additional venues for some time, and it remains early days for them in Melbourne’s west: the planning application has just been advertised and they're yet to land on a name.
“It's still with council and nothing is confirmed until that planning application process is completed,” he told The Crafty Pint.
“It's always been our vision or journey to open additional venues in Melbourne and that was kind of put on hold during COVID.”
The Hopkins Street building is located in the heart of Footscray; anyone who has spent a moment in the suburb would know its signage and furniture well.
For anyone outside of Melbourne, however, it's fair to say Franco Cozzo is a living legend. The Italian-Australian businessman ran furniture stores in both Footscray in Brunswick and his famed TV ads saw Franco speak directly into the camera in English, Italian and Greek to sell his distinct range of wares.
For an in-depth look at Franco's story, the documentary Palazzo di Cozzo is excellent viewing, but because Melburnians no longer have any taste, both Franco's stores have sat largely unused for some time, although they do remain full of furniture.
Franco sold the Footscray building in 2018, but his business has remained on site. Karl says they’re working with the building's new owner to turn the space into a venue and are eager to pay homage to the space’s long history and Franco Cozzo’s storied connection to Footscray.
“I grew up in the 90s, watching him on TV,” Karl says. “So what we want to do is retain the heritage of such an iconic figure and what he's built in Footscray. We do feel we’re the best kind of people to do that; we create large, grandiose venues and we want to make sure that heritage stays with that venue.”
Although there won’t be a brewery on site, Karl says that, much like Moon Dog World in Preston, visiting the new locale with be an experience featuring multiple bars and areas for people to explore, including a rooftop bar. The planning application states they’ll have licensed space for some 900 punters as well as a kitchen and kids play area.
As for whether or not visitors will finally be able to take a seat on some of Franco’s famous sofas, it’s early days.
“We haven't discussed this with Mr Cozzo yet, but we definitely want to have an area where people can experience his furniture as well,” Karl says.
The planning application caps off an impressive couple of months for the team: they won Champion Large Brewery at The Indies in October and have launched a new range of drinks called Razzler.
As Karl puts it: “The team's really pumped, the production team is doing a great job, and everything’s looking really good.”
Moon Dog Open Summer Paradiso At Melbourne's Art Centre
If you're in Melbourne and feel like you need more Moon Dog in your life now, they've launched a pop-up in partnership with the city's Art Centre. Summer Paradiso opens this Friday (Dec 2) in The Arts Centre Forecourt, serving a wide range of their drinks alongside food from Q Barbeque.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there will be a DJ spinning tunes too, while music will also be provided by SoundBox, a pop-up live audio studio that aims to take listeners behind the scenes of the music industry.
"We're super excited for the weather to warm up as we’ve partnered with Melbourne Arts Centre to create a summery escape, right in the heart of the CBD," Karl says.
"There’s so much going on in Melbourne over summer between The Arts Centre, Australian Open and Sidney Myer Music Bowl, just to name a few. We’re looking forward to being the meeting point for visitors of these iconic Melbourne activities across the warmer months."
Will Ziebell is a history graduate who knows more about The Wire than he does about beer. He was awarded the AIBA Best Media trophy for 2018; HBO have told him to please send his fan mail elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
Spending time living in the UK (and backpacking across Europe) when I was 21 certainly gave me a better understanding of the beer and different styles of the world. But I'd say it was a holiday to the High Country a little while later when lunch and a tasting paddle at Bridge Road Brewers created an obsession with Australian breweries and locally made beer.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
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Boatrocker's Miss Pinky: It's a raspberry-packed Berliner Weisse that neither looks or tastes the way many people conceive of beer.
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Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown: A luscious mix of chocolate and hazelnut that can appeal to the sweet tooth within us all.
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Stone & Wood Pacific Ale: As the father of my oldest friend once said to me: "It's the perfect refreshing pint that smells like they've loaded it with the God's herb."
The last beer you enjoyed:
Garage Project's DFA while sitting at the bar at Miss Moses as the sounds of The Rolling Stone drifting in the background.
Three things that represent you:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Ken Burns
- The State Library of Victoria
