But along came the coronavirus and that meant the popular restaurant had to close its doors.

And while it's not re-opening just yet, the closure of the restaurant has provided the perfect chance for the the building to receive a facelift.

Church Bar manager Chris White said much of the tables, bar and bathrooms will be improved.

"We just thought let's utilise the time that's left to get some stuff done that we'd normally not get time to do," he said.

"When you're open seven days a week, you don't get much time to do a lot of work, especially to a beautiful old building like this.

"We'll touch everything up, give it a bit of a facelift as far as we go in terms of table and the bar. We'll also freshen up the bathrooms too."

With the easing of restrictions in recent weeks, Mr White said it's encouraging news for many restaurants that were forced to shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Now that there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that we have a clear path from the government, we will be able to re-open in some format sooner rather than later," he said.

Check the Facebook page @ChurchBarBX for updates.