Brisbane restaurant Stokehouse Q will not reopen after COVID-19 shutdown
A high-end restaurant with one of the best views in Brisbane will not re-open after an extended COVID-19 shutdown. A CBD fine diner is set to take its prime South Bank position.
QLD Business
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Brisbane’s well-known Stokehouse Q restaurant will be permanently shuttered after a prolonged shutdown because of the coronavirus, owners have confirmed.
The lease on the current restaurant at South Bank will be taken over by the operators of Italian favourite Otto in Brisbane’s CBD.
The operators confirmed the closure on social media on Wednesday afternoon, saying they had made the “incredibly difficult decision to sell”.
Stokehouse Q owner Frank van Haandel said while the restaurant had loved the past 10 years in Brisbane, it was time to go.
“I feel confident Otto will deliver an amazing experience for all of our loyal customers and suppliers who we will miss immensely,” he said.
With Stokehouse Q’s managers and senior team members based in Melbourne, the ongoing border closure with Victoria was cited as an issue for the restaurant, which has a sister venue at St Kilda.
“Stokehouse Q will now not reopen – however we know that you are in great hands with OTTO,” an Instagram post on the closure said.
“To our much-loved Stokehouse Q customers – thank you for your unwavering support and for filling our venue with so much happiness, energy and just the right amount of wrong over the past 10 years.
“We have loved every minute of our time in Brisbane and we have had the privilege of working with many awesome team members.
“With our management team and other important senior team members based in Melbourne, and given the extended Queensland border closure to Victoria due to COVID-19, possibly until next year, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to sell.”
Fink creative director John Fink, operator of Otto, said the move to South Bank was “a very exciting moment for us”.
“The Sidon Street location has stunning waterfront and city views, it has event and private dining capabilities, proximity to Brisbane’s art precinct. There is an intuitive and natural synergy between this new riverside home for Otto Brisbane and its iconic sister restaurant on Sydney Harbour.”
Named Best Italian Restaurant in Queensland in the 2019 Delicious 100, Otto will continue to be led by head chef Will Cowper and general manager Alan Hunter.
It will remain at its current location at 480 Queen Street until the end of 2020.
It’s not the only high-profile Brisbane restaurant to fall victim to coronavirus.
In March, ARC Dining, which was voted the number one restaurant in Queensland, was a high-profile victim of COVID-19. It closed only a year after opening.
Popular South Brisbane restaurant Corella closed at the same time.
“It’s just not worth being open when you only have five to 10 people in everyday,” owner Paul McGivern told The Courier-Mail at the time.
