A neighbourhood nestled between downtown Kitchener and uptown Waterloo is hoping to take a bite out of those areas’ renowned culinary scenes..

Restaurants aren’t anything new for Belmont Village, of course, but several have either opened their doors recently or are getting ready to do so.

Arabella Park Beer Bar – which is setting up shop in a former floral shop near the Union Boulevard end of the village – falls into the latter category.

“This location is perfect,” co-owner Natalie Schnurr said in an interview.

“There’s so much potential on this strip for food and culture and fashion. “

Schnurr says there was thought to setting up in uptown Waterloo instead – but the combination of atmosphere and price point in Belmont Village ultimately won them over.

“We feel very comfortable here, and everybody’s making us feel very comfortable here,” she said.

“There’s plenty to see and do on Belmont Avenue.”

That feeling extends well past the area’s restaurant scene.

Hundreds of apartments are under construction near where Belmont meets Gage Avenue, and a former factory on nearby Glasgow Street is being redeveloped into a high-tech hub expected to one day employ 2,000 people.

Coun. Zyg Janecki, who represents the area, thinks the village feel of the Belmont Avenue strip – and accompanying “ma and pa” operations – might be the biggest factor driving all forms of development to the neighbourhood.

“There’s no big box or large department stores or grocery stores here at all – and that’s what makes it unique,” he said.

Takings its cue from a successful beer bar in Halifax, Arabella Park’s focus will be on beer that may sometimes be difficult to find elsewhere.

It will have 18 taps, all set aside for craft beer and cider, and Schnurr says she hopes to work with local breweries to have a lot of their products available.

The bar will be the first restaurant in Belmont Village to stay open past 11 p.m. It will also have a different feel from other neighbourhood eateries by providing community-style tables, and doing without table-to-table servers.

With reporting by Max Wark