Sometimes a venue has to be visited to be believed. Moon Dog Wild West is such a place.
The Footscray venue, which remains unchanged on the outside from its days as the home of Franco Cozzo’s garish furniture store, is a celebration of honky, tonky and good times on the inside.
Ahead of opening the doors in April 2024, the brewers had impressed with Moon Dog World: a vast warehouse conversion in Preston with lagoon, arcade rooms, hideaway spots, and space for more than 700 people.
With hindsight, it seems like that was just a slice of things to come with the brewery since opening Doglands next door to Marvel Stadium followed by another mega-venue in Frankston that, at the time of writing, was scheduled to open in late 2024.
It took until autumn 2024 for their vision for Footscray to come to life as they switched things up from the tropical vibes found elsewhere in their growing hospo empire to instead bring a slice of America’s frontier to town. Moon Dog Wild West saw them convert every inch of the warehouse into a sprawling saloon bar.
Spanning three levels, the venue fits 800 people and has around a hundred taps in total. Before you grab a drink, however, the first thing you’ll notice as you walk through the swinging saloon doors is undoubtedly the bucking bull. Even if nobody happens to be riding Jolene (a very rare occurrence) you can’t miss it; not only does it take up much of the front bar but it’s surrounded by bar seating so joyous onlookers can cheer on as people find out how bad they are at keeping a grip.
Walk through the many areas and, once the sensory overload subsides, you’ll likely start to notice how much attention to detail there’s been to recreate the Wild West in Melbourne. No op shop or antique store seems to have been spared as long-term employee Dave Langlands drove across the state to secure statues of horses, paintings of horses, and light fittings of … well, you get the picture. (Special mention to one of his favourite finds too: a mongoose fighting two cobras.)
Upstairs, the Honky Tonk bar features a stage kept safe as the Blues Brothers once were thanks to chicken wire. It often plays host to Americana acts and, naturally, line dancing classes. A pianola bar was built for hideaway functions and, as with Moon Dog World, there’s also plenty in the way of arcade machines and play areas for kids. For those with doggos, the rooftop bar provides ample space.
Of course, there’s every chance that, at some point, you might want to try a beer from one of those hundred taps. They pour Moon Dog’s significant and ever-changing selection of beers, including the “ridiculously fun” fun limited releases upon which they built their reputation. You’ll also find plenty of Fizzer from their seltzer arm, alongside a growing list of RTDs and unique cocktails, including some served from a barrel.
In other words, it’s all very outrageous, kitsch as you like, and all very Moon Dog. While we’re a long way from the gold-plated and marble-ordained furniture for which Franco was known, this corner of Footscray has certainly held onto his sense of the ostentatious.
Will Ziebell
