Plans lodged with the City of Greater Bendigo show builders would also modify the pitch of parts of the roof so they would look consistent when people viewed the pub's facade from High Street.

The verandah was badly damaged in a storm that swept through central Victoria last June.

Wild wind ripped the verandah's roof off.

That "has significantly detracted from the appearance of the southern elevation of the building," the tavern's planning consultants have told city planners.

Council is considering the application.

That application builds on permissions tavern owners won in 2016 for upgrades, many of which are yet to go ahead, including changes to parking and the removal of some trees on site.

One notable change between the old and new application is that it does not include a 150-person function centre.

The Advertiser understands the function centre has become increasingly unrealistic for a business of the tavern's size over time.

Even in 2016, owners would have needed a government grant to justify that element of the build, and building costs have increased with inflation over time.

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The tavern has long been an Axedale institution and has drawn people from around the region for food.

The current owner has long been considering ways to attract more clientele.

"With more people visiting here then you'd start to have more people looking at the region as a whole and saying, 'this is a beautiful area to live, it's not too far from Melbourne and it's a whole lot cheaper than Melbourne'," Garry Van Wynen said in 2016.

"Then you start to grow the community as a whole."

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