Work underway to revive Drift Cafe and Restaurant as riverside destination

The floating restaurant that famously smashed into one of Brisbane’s bridges during the 2011 floods is set to be revived as a breezy riverside destination.

AN ICONIC floating restaurant which famously smashed into a bridge during the 2011 Queensland floods and has sat empty ever since will get a new lease on life.

Talk of the Town can exclusively reveal that Drift Cafe & Restaurant, formerly known as Oxley’s on the River, will be transformed into a breezy, smart-casual venue after nine years sitting derelict in Milton.

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Workers are reportedly already busy cleaning up the venue to open in the coming months, boasting a bar, cafe and restaurant holding up to 220 patrons.

A second stage of development, which will need approval from the State Government, could see the venue expanded into a marina.

“It’s obviously been a long journey from 2011 to get things sorted,” the venue’s new operator, Todd Clayton, said.

“We’ve been working over the past few months in regards to getting this open,” Mr Clayton said.

The Drift Restaurant from Coronation Drive was washed downriver during the Brisbane Floods, finally coming ashore at Newstead Park. Picture: File.

Efforts were now underway to clear debris from the current structure.

Mr Clayton and wife Marissa, who own the Clayton Hospitality Group, have 40 years of experience and said the revitalised Drift would be a very different beast from its previous life pre-2011.

“It’s not white-linen table cloths,” Mr Clayton said.

“It’s got to appeal to a wider audience than just fine dining.”

He said the new Drift would instead reflect Brisbane’s dramatically changed tastes.

“I think Brisbane has embraced what happened at South Bank initially, now we’ve seen what’s happened with Howard Smith Wharves” Mr Clayton said.

“It’ll have 180-degree views into the river, smart-casual seating arrangements,” he said.

Drift, previously Oxley’s on the River, was an award-winning venue. Picture: David Kapernick

“There isn’t anything (like that) in that western corridor on the river.”

The venue’s leaseholder, businessman Ken Allsop, said discussions with Brisbane City Council and the State Department of Natural Resources to rebuild Drift had started over two years ago.

Mr Allsop, who is bankrolling the project, described his long-term proposal of a 500-metre commercial marina connected to the site as “bigger than Ben Hur,” with space for boats to dock overnight up and down Coronation Dr.

What Drift used to look like before the Brisbane Floods of 2011. Picture: File.

“It’ll be a sensational venue, because of what it’s got to offer the public. It’s going to be there for everybody … for all ages and styles of people,” he said.

“We’re going ahead with it and I hope to have the place open very very soon.”