Hailing from Naples in Italy, the home of pizza, new chef Marco Marano has revamped the local restaurant's menu and taken a more traditional approach.

Embracing his Italian heritage, and extensive experience of running pizzerias, Mr Marano has gone back to basics with simple but flavoursome toppings.

A main change customers will notice is the pizza bases.

In the past the dough was rolled in a machine, which prevented the base from rising.

Now the dough is rolled and stretched by hand, and made to order, which creates a fresh puffy crust.

So far the changes have been well-received by Bathurst, with the kitchen producing hundreds of pizzas since the reopening on August 1.

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Another new addition to the menu the focaccia sandwiches, which are served from 12pm to 3pm as an alternative lunch option.

"It's been really good," Mr Marano said.

"The venue's really nice and I like Bathurst."

Mr Marano has joined Irwan Kok in the kitchen, who was a chef at the Church Bar for around four years prior to the business shutting its doors for renovations.

Closing on January 16, the works took a little longer than initially expected but the team is happy with the final product.

Carpet was ripped up, new floorboards were put down and the layout of the dining area has changed.

Now customers will have the comfort and privacy of a booth to sit in while they enjoy lunch and dinner, in addition to the existing outdoor area and some high tables and chairs in the bar area.

Part owner James Derriman said when the damaged floorboards were pulled up they found some old items underneath the building that will be incorporated into the décor around the dining area.

The objects add to the interesting history of the building, which the owners are currently looking more into.

"We found old cigarette tins, marbles, a cricket bat half rotten, bottles, some interesting little artefacts," Mr Derriman said.

"We're going to do a little showcase of that somewhere."

Mr Derriman also owns the O'Connell Pub, which has been closed for a number of months now due to upgrades and renovations.

A development application has been lodged for the works, and though reopening is still a while off, Mr Derriman is looking forward to the completion of the pub and welcoming the public through the doors once again.

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