The Scoop: Brisbane CBD restaurant Red Hook to open second venue
One of Queensland’s longest-standing and most successful burger bars is expanding, with a second restaurant to open in Brisbane. THIS IS THE SCOOP
Confidential
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One of Queensland’s longest-standing and most successful burger bars is expanding, with plans for a series of new venues across the state’s capital.
Brisbane CBD favourite Red Hook, from local hospitality veterans Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau, will open a sister eatery at Portside Hamilton, in the city’s inner north, in September.
The fresh venture will be called Dumbo – after Brooklyn neighbourhood Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass – in keeping with their theme of ’90s New York-inspired burger joints.
“Red Hook has survived two floods, the GFC, Covid,” Shearston said. “It’s the sort of business that has staying power and we’re aware everyone is doing it tough at the moment and you don’t want to go out and spend $200, $300, $400 on a meal, but you still want to be able to get good product and have a great time so that’s really the important thing for us is to make sure we’re offering that sophisticated yet casual vibe.
“There will definitely be that core menu you’ll recognise throughout all of the sites, so if you’re a Red Hook fan you can definitely go to Dumbo and have the same experience, or if you want to branch out there’s options there for you too.”
POP STAR’S BLAST OVER TOUR CRITICISM
Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee has told the haters to “shut the f**k up” after he was hit with criticism over his current tour.
The thing that riled the naysayers up? The fact Lee is playing a string of country towns.
“I love when I announce a tour in Australia and haters on Facebook tease me for playing regional gigs like Eumundi and Woy Woy like I’m a failure or something when I’m one of very few artists running a touring business at an actual profit now shut the f**k up,” Lee wrote on social media.
Speaking with The Scoop, the Catch My Disease singer opened up about the backlash.
“There were people who almost made fun of me for playing regional, like, ‘Oh, you must be pretty successful to be playing Woy Woy.’ And I was like, firstly, everyone is working for a paycheck,” he stated.
“If you knew about the music industry, the inside outs of it, and knew how few artists were able to have any kind of profitable outcome from touring, you would see what a victory it is.”
Despite the criticism, Lee’s tour continues to gain traction. Having performed in Brisbane and Eumundi earlier this month he is set to return to Queensland for gigs at Studio 188 in Ipswich and the Kingston Butter Factory in Logan next weekend.
Lee’s decision to venture into smaller towns is driven by a genuine desire to connect with more fans.
“What’s the end game in just playing capital cities?” Lee mused.
“If you like playing live, and entertaining people, and connecting, you want to do it where they’ll have you and where they’ll pay you to do it.”
“I just see a real opportunity to play for all kinds of people who discovered my music back when music was more of a monoculture but still want to be involved in it.”
And it turns out Lee is very aware of what a polarising figure he is, and readily accepts he’s one of those artists you either love or hate.
“I always think people that think they don’t like me just don’t really know me,” he said.
“I’m doing my own thing, and that includes having humour. If someone misunderstands that, I don’t always feel the need to totally clarify it. What I do is not for everybody, and I don’t really care.”
In a move sure to excite his loyal fans, Lee announced his 16th solo album, “This One’s for the Old Headz,” set for release on September 20 via Weirder Together, the label he runs with his wife, Ione Skye. The album’s lead single, “Heavy Metal,” is already making waves. Lee described the album’s vibe “as a real ‘90s record … blistering, indie guitar rock with harmonies.”
“I made the whole album in three days … We played it to tape. It’s old-fashioned in that way, so the record is very unifying.”
ELITE SIZZLE AT THE STRADDIE
Brisbane’s elite trotted out in style at Eagle Farm for the city’s premier racing event, the Stradbroke Handicap, on Saturday.
The racetrack was abuzz with politicians, sports stars, TV and radio hosts, and influencers, all eager to see and be seen at this highlight of the social calendar.
In the exclusive VIP Squire’s Perch, it wasn’t just the horses showing off their finest form.
Brisbane Lions Josh Dunkley and Jack Payne alongside Dolphins aces Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jack Bostock, Felise Kaufusi, and Herbie Farnsworth turned the style stakes up a notch, proving their fashion game was just as strong as their sports game.
Amid the glamour, TV favourites Samantha Heathwood, Max Futcher, and Kendall Gilding, with Nova 106.9’s David “Luttsy” Lutteral, were seen indulging in the lap of luxury, their celebratory spirits fuelled by fine champagne and canapes.
Meanwhile, the Broncos enjoyed their own exclusive celebration, tucked in a private room away from the prying eyes – and press – relishing in the day’s races.
Eagle-eyed onlookers also spotted Brisbane Lions chief Greg Swann and Queensland Cricket’s Terry Svenson deep in what appeared to be a very strategic conversation, sparking rumours of potential new stadium talks.
Upstairs in the Guineas Room, the upper echelons of the political sphere gathered, including Racing Minister Grace Grace. Dr Reza Adib was spotted solo.
The Scoop understands his partner, former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, is travelling abroad in China on a trip in her new role with the Smart Energy Council.
Also spotted was union identity Gary “Blocker” Bullock.
But nobody was happier than Brisbane Deputy Mayor Krista Adams, who was celebrating a win in Race 6 having backed the favourite Broadsiding at the generous odds of $1.60.
On the fashion front, sustainability took centre stage at this year’s Fashions on the Field. Many attendees flaunted re-wears in black, white, and touches of red, showcasing outfits from previous years or creatively revamped ensembles.
Despite concerns that the racing industry might be faltering due to economic pressures, Brisbane Racing Club CEO Tony Partridge dispelled this.
“In tough times when people are working hard, they deserve to have a good time more than ever, and we’re in the business of adult fun, and have been for 165 years,” he said. “We’re not going out of fashion.”
SCANLON V STONE
The gloves are well and truly off in what’s certain to be one of the most hotly-contested seats in the October state election.
In the red corner is Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon who will square off against blue corner opponent, former Sunrise reporter and newly-minted LNP candidate Bianca Stone, in the Gold Coast seat of Gaven.
It’s shaping as a bruising bare-knuckle bash if the opening round is any indication.
No sooner had Ms Stone been preselected last Saturday that Ms Scanlon came out swinging, making much of the fact that she grew up in the electorate.
“While the LNP have chosen a TV personality, I’m a long-time local who cares about the community I grew up in,” she said.
It was a pointed dig at Ms Stone, who lives outside Gaven on the northern Gold Coast and who Ms Scanlon accused of being “parachuted” into the seat by the LNP.
There was more sparring from the Scanlon corner this week over the fact that Ms Stone gave her first campaign speech to a Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce event at Topgolf next to Movie World, also outside the electorate.
With youth crime shaping as a major election issue, the two candidates also traded early blows on social media over their family police ties.
When Ms Stone posted a photo of her standing next to her senior police officer husband Mark Mooney and Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski, Ms Scanlon responded with an old pic of her dad Phil being sworn into the Queensland Police Service.
Ms Scanlon, who was elected in 2017 as Queensland’s youngest-ever female MP, holds Gaven with a 7.8 percent margin and is Labor’s only Gold Coast state pollie.
Get set for a slugfest.
STEVE MAKES THE NEWS
Channel 7’s Gold Coast anchorman Steve Titmus was the subject of one of his own news bulletins this week after swimming star daughter Ariarne’s stunning performance at the Australian Olympic trials in Brisbane.
Titmus told viewers that as a news presenter he tried every day to remain impartial and unbiased but asked them to forgive him for showing “some favouritism about my remarkable daughter Ariarne and her incredible performance at the Olympic trials”.
“Last night, she took our family on one of the most extraordinary journeys of our lives,” he said, after “Arnie” smashed the 200m freestyle world record on Wednesday night.
The story showed footage of Steve and wife Robyn cheering ecstatically from the stands at Chandler.
HONOUR FOR LOCAL DOCTOR
A Queensland doctor has been named in the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list.
At 28, Helena Franco is one of a handful of women who work in orthopaedic medicine, but it was her invention of a smart patch worn on the ankle to treat patients with urinary incontinence that likely attracted the attention of the Forbes judges.
That innovation is about to be tested in clinical trials overseas.
Dr Franco was named in the 2024 Asia Pacific list for healthcare.
“It’s pretty cool to be named … I got the email when I was sitting outside the operating room so it was a very nice surprise,” she said.
“I have always liked interventional medicine and I knew I wanted to work with kids and adults, but in my last two weeks of medical school I saw a hip replacement and that for me was my ‘aha’ moment.”
Dr Franco is the principal house officer at The Prince Charles Hospital.
Her innovative smart patch prevents patients with incontinence having to visit a hospital.
Through her orthopaedic knowledge she was able to pinpoint the exact spot for bladder stimulation to be delivered at home. It uses electric pulses to send messages to the bladder.
Dr Franco grew up in Brisbane and studied medicine on the Gold Coast before embarking on a Masters at Harvard in medical sciences in global health delivery. She won a prestigious prize at Harvard for her patch prototype.
“I love orthopaedics because it is fulfilling and team-based, and no two days are the same,” she said.
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