Staff blindsided by shock Stokehouse Q South Bank restaurant closure

Staff were apparently clueless to the news that top Brisbane restaurant Stokehouse Q would be closed, finding out only moments before the public

Staff at Brisbane’s prestigious riverside restaurant Stokehouse Q were reportedly blindsided by the surprise announcement on Wednesday of the venue’s sale and closure.

Staff at the South Bank fine diner were allegedly told as late as Tuesday to gear up for reopening and that everything would be returning to normal after a four-month shutdown with COVID-19.

Brisbane restaurant Stokehouse Q will not reopen after COVID-19 shutdown

Restaurant review: Stokehouse Q at South Bank

Stokehouse Q has closed with the site bought by The Fink Group.

Executive chef Ollie Hansford even posted on his social media six days ago “not long now” referring to a reopening.

But late on Wednesday the team were delivered the shock news that the venue had been sold to hospitality enterprise The Fink Group, which would move its star Brisbane CBD Italian restaurant Otto across the river into the space.

“Ollie was one of the last to know. He was completely blindsided,” a source, who did not want to be named, told The Courier-Mail.

Ollie Hansford who returned to Queensland to head up Stokehouse Q as executive chef.

The chef, who did not want to comment, had moved to Brisbane from Melbourne last year to take the top job. But he had apparently been kept in the dark for much of the lockdown period about the restaurant’s future, while almost all other staff were let go at the beginning of coronavirus shutdowns and forced to find employment elsewhere.

While Stokehouse Q, which has its management team and flagship sister restaurant in Melbourne, officially blamed COVID-19 border closures for the decision to sell up, the venue has actually been for sale for more than six months. One high profile Brisbane restaurateur confirming to The Courier-Mail that he had been approached to take over the site at the beginning of the year.