Owen Westman Elaborates on Plans for Melbourne Future

Owen Westman, who has left San Francisco's vaunted cocktail bar Rickhouse to return to his native Melbourne, Australia, has let out a bit more information on the bar he'll be running half way across the world. 

Westman—author of one of my favorites cocktails, the Laphroaig Project—and two partners have taken ownership of the Collection Lounge on Bridge Road in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne. Westman describes it as "a busy little cafe and shopping area and the bar has been a local hotspot for about 10 years. Small plates and cocktails is what they specialize in."

"I will be working with my business partners and some friends to breathe some new life into the food and beverage program they have in place," he continued. "Also, with more space available in the building we hope to expand it a little as well however we have not decided what this will entail just yet."

Westman previously said the cocktail list will draw on his experience at Bourbon & Branch, Rickhouse and other bars he's visited throughout the world. (He calls Melbourne "by far the most cocktail and food forward city in Australia."