Top 20 Under 40: Frank Li has built one of southeast Qld’s biggest hospitality empires

Six months after graduating from an engineering degree at the University of Queensland, Frank Li decided he was on the wrong path. But he never imagined his “Plan B” would turn into one of the state’s most innovative dining and hospitality empires.

Frank Li is not one to order from a menu to feed his own ego.

“I’m just the background guy,” he says, modestly playing down his role in a side hustle with his mates that has put them at the frontline of southeast Queensland’s restaurant revolution.

Unquestionably, however, it is Li’s business acumen that is a key ingredient in their successful vanguard of dining and drinking venues, which includes Brisbane’s The Flying Cock, Longtime, Honto, Little Valley and the Gold Coast’s Rick Shores.

Not a bad effort for what he calls his “Plan B”.

As a teenager, Li travelled from China – where his father owns and operates an industrial business – to attend one of Brisbane’s most prestigious private schools before graduating from the University of Queensland with an engineering degree.

“Six months after graduating I just knew I wasn’t going to be an engineer for the rest of my life. I hated it … so I just kind of went with Plan B,” he says.

Frank Lim at his celebrated eatery Little Valley. Picture: AAP/John Gass

Together with his better-known mates and business partners Tyrone Simon, Nick Woodward, Andrew Hohns and David Flynn he shares a passion for travel and food.

“Travelling the world we’d see lots of restaurants and bars and think ‘Why is nobody doing this in Brisbane?’ … and so we just decided to have a go,” Li says.

Now, after already cooking up a storm with a handful of popular venues, they are still having a go – working on a couple of new ventures, including a woodfired restaurant and a yet-to-be revealed high street Asian-influenced eatery.

Meanwhile, Li is also expanding his business horizons by dabbling in multiple industries ranging from property development, fitness, the music industry and technology.

“I just see myself as being lucky,” Li says.

“I had access to some level of capital from my parents to go and do a few things and, in a lot of ways, I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“In the past 10 years Brisbane has undergone a significant transformation and the city now has got so much to offer and I’m glad we’ve been a part of that game-changing journey.”