After more than nine months of renovations, a landmark Geneva restaurant run by an American expat is officially opening Wednesday night.

With 750 metres of space and capable of seating 850 people, the municipally owned eatery is located in the heart of the city on an island in the middle of the River Rhône.

The “Brasserie des Halles de l’Ile” promises budget prices and international fare under the management of Helen Calle-Lin, a US citizen who won the right to run the restaurant last year.

Calle-Lin, 40, is managing a staff of 40 people who have spent a few weeks running the place on a trial basis for the past couple of weeks to iron out a few of the bugs, including a defective computer ordering system that has since been fixed.

“We’re hoping lots of people can come,” Calle-Lin told Swisster in an earlier interview when she outlined plans that she said should appeal to people from the expat community, as well as locals. "We're planning to make it a nice place in the centre of the city for people to meet."

The space in the historic 19th century building has undergone 1.6 million francs’ worth of renovations to create a lounge atmosphere divided into different areas, including a terrace overlooking the river and a snug where visitors can relax on a comfortable couch.

A long stainless steel bar, designed by Calle-Lin’s husband, architect Laurent Lin, is one of the more notable features.

Calle-Lin said the bistro, open seven days a week from morning until night, operating partly like a café and as a place for casual dining and drinks. A regular mix of entertainment is planned, including music, theatre and performing arts, with DJs playing later in the evening on weekends when the restaurant will stay open until 2 am, while wireless access will allow people to use their laptops there.

On the menu, daily specials are priced around 14 francs, with Swiss specialties such as longeole (the traditional Geneva pork sausage), cheese fondue, and dried meat from Graubünden, as well as international cuisine.

The establishment of the restaurant on the island, linked to either side of the river by pedestrian bridges, has been in the works for several years. In 2006, city council initially approved the idea of a “five continents” brasserie for the site, calculated to have an international appeal.

Calle-Lin won the right to manage the site following an interview with Geneva officials after she responded to a proposal call. Born in Taiwan, she moved to the United States when she was three and spent most of her formative years in that country, living in communities from San Francisco to Boston.

She moved to Geneva at the age of 22 after studying chinese culture and French at the University of Texas and began learning the catering trade in an unconventional way - by cooking for squatters occupying buildings.

Calle-Lin subsequently opened Le Comptoir, an Asian restaurant in Geneva’s Pâquis neighbourhood, and now also owns a lounge bar (Lola), in addition to overseeing a restaurant in Bern (the Lötschberg).