Moon Dog's New Wild West-Themed Bar in Footscray's Iconic Franco Cozzo Building Will Open in March 2024

Moon Dog announced its plans to transform Footscray's iconic Franco Cozzo building into a huge drinking and dining venue at the end of 2022, and now we finally have news on when it's going to open. Come early March 2024, the team will swing open the saloon doors to its new Moon Dog Wild West brewery bar that's set to be twice as big as the already enormous Moon Dog World in Preston.

The new 800-person venue will span three storeys, and have over 100 taps pouring Moon Dog beers and seltzers.

Once guests pass through the swinging saloon doors on Hopkins Street, they'll be met with a huge bucking bull surrounded by horseshoe-shaped booths, an old western-inspired arcade and a barrel-ageing room.

Up on level two, there'll be a honky tonk bar, live music stage, some pool tables, a balcony and a secret Pianola Bar. On this floor, the menu will be stacked with American barbecue eats — very on theme for the Moon Dog Wild West brewery bar.

The new Moon Dog Wild West in Footscray will even have a sun-drenched rooftop with views over the city. There'll be another bar up here, plus food will come in the form of Tex Mex bites and classic gastropub dishes (it seems that no matter how far it leans into the US stylings, it can't get rid of the Aussie parma — and we're not mad about it).

"With a venue of this size, we know we could achieve something that hasn't been seen before and really go bigger than we ever have. We're hoping to create somewhere for people to enjoy the outrageousness of it all!" said Moon Dog CEO and Co-Founder Joshua Uljans.

Gavin Anderson via Flickr

Moon Dog World, Kate Shanasy

Moon Dog Wild West will be located at 54 Hopkins Street, Footscray and is set to open in early March 2024, operating from 11am–11pm Sunday–Thursday and 11am–1am Friday–Saturday. For more information, head to the venue's website.

Images: Sam Schultz.