When Sea Salt and Sage, the catering business of daughter-mother team Leah and Gianna Della-Grotta, outgrew their Tudor Street commercial kitchen it was time to find a new home.
Leah's artist husband Justin Lees, the son of late Golden Slipper-winning horse trainer Max Lees, had long felt the urge to open an art gallery.
The stars aligned when the couple inspected the ground floor of the former Wesley Mission on Wood Street in Newcastle West, a property with both a large kitchen to the rear and a front room suited to exhibitions.
Wester Gallery was born.
"I've always wanted to do a gallery, even when I ran Rad Store," says Justin, referring to his former retail venture on Darby Street then the Newcastle mall.
The new gallery owner has discovered working down the corridor from a caterer is also rad.
"Lunch is cheap," he says with a grin.
Leah finds working alongside her husband more beneficial than not.
"I work weird hours and before we wouldn't see each other a lot," says the caterer.
"Now we're always checking on the other and it allows us to run our family better because we're always communicating."
But the arrangement is tempered by quid pro quo.
"I'm forever annoying him while he's working and he's always asking me what's for lunch," says Leah.
"It works for us but might not be for everyone."
The combination of art gallery and caterer offers a rare venue hire opportunity.
"We had an engagement party here last week, only small, about 30 people," says Justin.
"A cocktail party with a big grazing table and drink station."
Leah adds: "Having the gallery space for a private dining area is great. Intimate gatherings where people's homes don't have to be disturbed and they can be surrounded by art has been a drawcard and a wonderful addition to our services."
The Della-Grottas have a legacy of owning restaurants in Newcastle, including Café De Beaumont and Café Giannotti, and Leah's father Leo was a Newcastle Herald columnist before becoming a real estate agent.
Sea Salt and Sage has grown since moving into a bigger kitchen and business is busier than ever.
"Now that COVID lockdowns have ended, we've had to play catch-up with a lot of postponed parties and weddings," says Leah.
"It's been a really busy time. However, COVID is still wreaking havoc. I think everyone is short-staffed at the moment but we're getting through it."
Like a lot of culinary businesses, Sea Salt and Sage adjusted to lockdowns by offering coffee, pre-ordered food and contactless delivery.
"We began hand-making cannoli, focaccia and pasta for lasagna," Leah says.
"We had to invest in an electric pasta machine to keep up with the demand."
Wester Gallery is named after a song by one of Justin's favourite bands, Californian punk-rockers AFI, a track off their 2000 record The Art of Drowning.
The titles of Wester's group exhibitions are also plucked from AFI lyrics and the name works given the gallery's west end location.
Justin, whose own painting he describes as "abstract expressionism", believes Newcastle's independent gallery scene has strengthened since COVID lockdowns dissipated, with the likes of Straitjacket, Leda, Blackstone and Onwards all offering an array of regular exhibitions and workshops.
"The more galleries the better," says Justin.
"And we're all working well together - there's no competition or fighting over artists. An artist will show here and then show at another gallery the following year. And there's tonnes of artists who aren't represented."
While Wester, which opened in July, mostly features artworks other than his own, Justin is developing a special solo exhibition for August next year, which will finish a three-week run on the 26th of that month - the 20th anniversary of his father's passing.
Max Lees, who died only weeks after a cancer diagnosis at the age of 65, was a local icon of the horse-racing industry and Hall of Famer.
Justin's brother Kris continues the family's legacy of training champions.
"The show will be called I Saw Your Ghost Tonight," says Justin.
"That whole exhibition will be about Dad - not just art, but photography and charcoal sketches and installations."
Justin plans to tie other strings to Wester's bow, from a printed zine to an online art and fashion store.
Yesterday saw the launch of Wester's new exhibition Little Things, showcasing the talents of Newcastle photographer and painter Luke O'Donnell.
Next month Wester will host a group photography exhibition curated by camera accessory designers Hung Supply.
Justin's goal is to entice fresh creatives to Newcastle.
"I want to mix photography with fine art and bring people from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - wherever - to Newcastle, who wouldn't normally think about coming here."
Instagram remains his main avenue to find new artists and he's always on the hunt.
"I know what I like when I see it," Justin says.
"Your first instinct with art's always the best. If you automatically like it when you see it, that says something."
Wester Gallery, 16 Wood Street, Newcastle West, is open Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, and Saturday, 10am to 2pm.
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