Mr Jarman, who also runs Star Hotel and is co-owner at Bridge Hotel, said he had spent $100,000 renovating the High St business which will become the Murray River Providore.
The former Campaspe Shire councillor's new deli and cafe will include local products and produce as well as cooking classes, and will open as soon as COVID-19 restrictions make it viable to do so — ideally the September school holidays.
“We were all ready and then COVID-19 has made it, like some other businesses, unviable at this point in time,” he said.
Mr Jarman said there were a lot of potters, painters and other artists interested in displaying their works.
“There are a lot of people who care about the port and want to see it succeed, myself included,” he said.
Mr Jarman said retaining the historic "look and feel" of the house was also important.
“We’ve worked with our architects to respect the history of the building, reviving the wooden floors, restoring the pressed tin walls, internal fitout and fireplaces clean and ready to light,” he said.
“There are also plans to produce a whole range of preserves made here in Echuca.
“At the moment we’re ready to go but COVID-19 has made it unreasonable to open.”
Telley House was formerly known as Wistaria and was the home of the Wistaria Tea Rooms for 17 years until talks between the former leaseholder and Campaspe Shire hit a stalemate.
In 2018 the former leaseholder said they had tried to renegotiate a secure lease for four years, to no avail.
The lease was then month-to-month from September 2017 until August 2018, when Wistaria Tea Rooms closed its doors for good with the former leaseholder giving notice to council that they would be leaving the premises.
In December 2018 Campaspe Shire Council confirmed it had spent $50,000 refurbishing the property, including disability access improvements and works to internal walls.
The council also said a tenant could have been "in before Christmas" in 2018 but it wasn’t until May 2019, after council renamed the property Telley House, that an expressions of interest to take over the lease was opened.
Mr Jarman was the successful applicant.
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