People might not like the new bar that's soon to open on a corner in Kingston.
And Keirain Bunton is OK with that. He's opening Bar Nova in a week's time, in the space recently vacated by the much-loved European eatery Onzieme.
It's a new beginning for sure - the name is a hint - but Bunton wants to keep some of Onzieme's edgy chicness alive.
It will be his way of honouring what came before, in a city with a short history.
Chef Louis Couttoupes walked away from his beloved creation in March, citing staffing problems, but said he hoped someone would take over the venue.
Bunton is taking this baton seriously; Bar Nova will be "pretty f---ing different" to what came before, but will keep the spirit alive in terms of the energy Onzieme carried with it.
"Canberra isn't old enough to have all the charm that I think Sydney and Melbourne have, and all these little nooks and crannies you find in venues," he said.
"When one comes up that's been something, that's got a little bit of love and life in the world, I think it's important for it to stay something like that."
The 34-year-old has been in hospitality more or less his whole adult life, and said opening his own place was a way of "doubling down and sticking to my guns".
Inside the corner venue this week, the chaos of a major renovation made it hard to imagine the place was just a week away from opening.
But Bunton was excited at the prospect of being able to do what he loves best, on his own terms.
"I've always loved food. I've grown up around food, and food's been like a big passion of mine - I've been enamoured with it since I was a kid," he said.
"Looking after people, cooking for people. I'm a big proponent of, when you cook for someone, you're giving them not just some food. You're satiating them, giving them your time."
The dream goes back to the years after he finished school, and found himself doing odd jobs in hospitality. He had a broken leg and was hanging out at the long-closed Ojo's Bar, at what was then called the Tuggeranong Hyperdome, and jumped in to help in the kitchen, boot and all.
"Then I never really looked back," he said.
"I worked at a Transit Bar, and then I jumped over to Shorty's, and I've been with [restaurant entrepreneur] Frank Condi on and off for a very long time.
"I went from glassy to managing pretty quickly, and never really looked back."
Most recently, he was venue manager of The Inn at Ainslie, and is bringing his old school friend Nick Peterson, formerly head chef at Such & Such, to run the kitchen.
But he doesn't want to give too much away about what patrons can expect once the place opens next week. He posted a video of himself spraypainting the bar's name on the famous red door on the Eyre Street entrance, and has left all other details deliberately enigmatic.
"I think this space stands as an opportunity for us to practise our style of hospitality and everything that encompasses," he said, still being enigmatic.
"So we're calling it a 'bar restaurant', but we're not tied to any cuisine ... We wanted to use this as an opportunity to encourage people to have a little bit of faith in the people who are serving them. So it's not any one style of thing. It's just like, let us look after you - small plates, a whole bunch of fun stuff. We're going to change it up as much as we can, try and be seasonal and respectful and responsible when it comes to that kind of thing. But whatever feels right is what's going to go on the menu."
He's adamant that Canberra's food scene - the one he feels a part of - is congenial, dynamic and not about competition. But it's time, he says, for people to try to liven the scene as much as possible.
"I think this space is going to be super different for people from what they're used to in Canberra," he said.
"I say this with all the love in the world, but I think COVID forced people's hands into pivoting and maybe becoming a bit too homogenous for my liking. And again, I do say that with respect because everyone's got to eat, right? But I wanted to come to the table and give an offering where everybody's welcome, but if it's not for you, that's OK.
"I don't think everything has to be for everybody - you can't go to McDonald's and ask for a pizza.
"I want to make sure that we are super transparent and honest with our offering, and encourage people to have a little bit of faith to come in and have some fun."
And the name? Bunton is a self-confessed "space geek", and has always been fascinated by space and "silly conspiracy theories".
And there's a hint of the supernova, "a new star, new beginnings, a new chapter for me".
But ultimately, he says, he wants the place to exert the same kind of gravitational pull that he and his mates have for each other.
"I kind of feel like my friends and I are quite like that with each other - people seem to gravitate towards us and have fun."
