Plans for basement speakeasy Olivette could shake up the local bar scene, bringing 1920s New York to Wagga

Plans are afoot for a prohibition-style basement speakeasy on Fitzmaurice Street that will bring something new to the local bar scene, according to Nick King, the man behind the idea.

Much like the speakeasies of the 20s - when alcohol was outlawed in the US under the Volstead Act - there will be no signage or hint as to what lies below the building.

Mr King and wife Anna are avowed whisky lovers whose dream of owning their own bar was formed on travels to New York and Kentucky just before the pandemic hit.

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"And we fell in love with the whole speakeasy vibe, the mysterious and the unknown, the prohibition element of it," Mr King said.

"We thought about harnessing that golden age of that underground prohibition-style speakeasy."

The couple worked on the idea for a while, but it wasn't until the basement of the former Wagga Base Hospital Auxiliary op shop became available that the dream for Olivette looked possible.

A development application for the bar at 24 Fitzmaurice Street - in the former Lum Inn restaurant space - is currently before Wagga City Council. All things going to plan, the Kings hope to be up and running by March.

Olivette will offer high-end cocktails, whiskeys and small tapas-style sharing eats, operating until 2am seven days a week and accommodating up to 80 patrons.

The bar will be replete with booths, an open-plan kitchen and a serious whisky collection.

Mr King hopes their vision can be the real thing and shake up the Wagga bar scene.

"If we want to have a good weekend we always go to Melbourne," he said.

"There's heaps of venues down there that bring that cocktail, whisky bar-vibe ... those places where you're getting good drinks, good service and a good experience and we just saw there was a gap in the Wagga market.

"We're really wanting to elevate the standard of drinks in Wagga."

Mr King works in agriculture and Mrs King is a radiographer by day, so this is new territory for the pair, although Mrs King's family are the owners of the Thirsty Crow.

The name Olivette is a nod to infamous American bootlegger, Bill McCoy - the man behind the saying 'the real McCoy' - who ferried illegal booze across the states. He learnt to sail on a boat named the Olivette.

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