“This is a unique space, which could be used for anything, from a crazy birthday party to a baby shower, to a community market,” he said.

“And it is a formula we’d like to repeat around the city...this time it is with beer, but it could be with anything.” 

Unfortunately, though, punters who were hanging out for Thursday’s scheduled opening of Handle Bar will have to wait.

“We had a few last minute hiccups,” another director, Chris Kelly, said.

Mr Kelly said he was now hoping to open Handle Bar over coming weeks.

“We do have to apologise, because there were a lot of people who were keen to come down over the weekend,” he said.

“But sometimes you hit little hurdles just at the end.”

He wouldn’t be drawn on specifics of the hurdles but Mr Kelly did say the road had been long. The 32-year-old from the Gold Coast came to Bendigo seven years ago to study at La Trobe. Originally, Bendigo was a stepping stone to Melbourne, the Queenslander said. 

“But after about six months it just hit me… Bendigo really suits me, it suits my lifestyle,” Mr Kelly said. 

Still, Mr Kelly wanted to see more venues and live performances – and he wasn’t alone. After chatting with university mates and work acquaintances, he became part of a group who wanted to do something about that. 

“The idea came from the Bendigo Bank community banking model… and we were also inspired by the idea of crowdfunding idea,” he said. 

“So we held a public shareholders meeting where we said: ‘we have this space which is an unused plot of land in middle of Bendigo which would be a great space for lots of people to use in many different ways, who wants to buy into the project?’

“Now we have 28 shareholders and 31 individuals who are not just financially but emotionally involved in the project.”

Mr Kelly said its many parents had many different plans for Handle Bar’s future. 

“Essentially it is an open air space and the courtyard is being kept as free of structures as possible so it can be used as a flexible space,” he said. 

“Some of the shareholders are interested in comedy, so we’ll be interested in hosting some stand up, others are keen to get involved with the Bendigo Fashion Festival, we’ve been approached by others who want to use it for community markets….”

“In a commercial sense, the venue will primarily be used as a bar and for socialising, we wouldn’t expect people to feel the need to sit around and drink.”

The venue is at the rear of 73 Mitchell Street and is accessed via Get Naked Espresso, which Mr Gollan runs. Follow Handle Bar on Facebook for updates.