After months of eating breakfast and drinking coffee outside in the cold, Rod Braines is finally going to be able to enter his local cafe.
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The Turvey Park resident uses a wheelchair and has been barred from entry to The Brew by the two brown steps at the cafe's entrance, but a $515,000 revamp is set to change everything.
Over the next few months, the Coleman Street cafe will be undergoing major renovations, which include making the business' interior completely accessible to wheelchairs and prams.
Mr Braines goes to The Brew multiple times each week and said it was fantastic to hear he'd finally have a way to get inside.
"I don't mind being out here if it's a good day when you can sit out in the sun, but when it is cold like it has been it would be good to go inside," he said.
"It's exactly what we need more of in Wagga especially away from the CBD - I just can't wait until it's finished."
Kim Wilson, the owner of The Brew, said the building's poor accessibility has been a frustration ever since she purchased the former Cafe Niche site last year.
She said it is going to be "so exciting" when the renovations are complete and her business can finally become fully-inclusive.
"There's nothing worse than when it's a freezing cold day, it's raining and everyone is inside while poor Rod is sitting outside eating - it's just cruel," Mrs Wilson said.
"For all of us staff, right now it feels like we are having friends over for lunch but we've told one person they have to sit outside."
The renovations also include the construction of an all-weather outdoor deck, a homewares and takeaway store to the side of the cafe, as well as a reconfiguration of the existing interior.
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Mrs Wilson said the works will create "a better flow" through the cafe and allow for extra seating space away from the elements.
She believes the addition of the "neighbourhood shop" will help diversify the business and create an added convenience for her customers.
"The store down the side will sell homeware-style gifts, but the chefs will also be making ready-made meals, deli-style sauces, rubs for meat and some cheeses," Mrs Wilson said.
"It will make it a lot more convenient for people ... say mums and bubs that need to quickly pick up a present for someone or grab a meal to take home for that night."
The cafe owner is aiming to get the works under way in the next three to four weeks and she is hoping to have the renovations fully complete by the end of the year.
"It all depends on the weather but the aim is a three to four month renovation," Mrs Wilson said.
Current plans are for the cafe to remain open over the course of the revamp, except for one week when it will close to allow for the interior renovations.
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