Kitchener’s popular Boathouse is open for business again after a months-long renovation to the music venue and Victoria Park.

The $600,000 renovation included improvements like an expanded patio, new temporary parking, new lights and new sound equipment.

Contractors and volunteers were still putting the finishing touches on Friday morning, pushing the opening back from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The business was closed for over eight months as the pond at Victoria Park was dredged and deepened and new stone blocks were installed around the shoreline.

Those improvements were part of a $10-million project to improve water quality.

Kevin Doyle, the operator of the Boathouse, says “People on the street, anywhere I go, everybody’s happy. It’s a great thing, this wonderful community to get behind this and make sure it lives on.”

He has signed a new 10-year lease with the city to continue to operate the venue.