Logan shopping centre unveils $20m renos, halal butcher, sushi restaurant

Two rival Logan shopping centres have unveiled their latest foodie hubs – with fried chicken, sushi and even a boutique halal butcher making the area the hottest dining hub south of Brisbane.

Sushi, a boutique butcher and outdoor dining have helped a popular southside shopping centre win the first round in a bitter war for market dominance in Springwood, south of Brisbane.

The 47-year-old Arndale Centre, anchored by Coles on Cinderella Drive, is less than 300m from the newer Springwood Mall, anchored by Woolworths and Target.

Arndale completed $20 million renovations this year and is drawing in a new crowd after unveiling a boutique halal-certified butcher.

Customers can have their meat cooked on site or dine at specialised sushi store Ha-Ha Chicken.

Two rival southside shopping centres have unveiled their latest foodie hubs – with fried chicken, sushi and even a boutique halal butcher where you can get your meat cooked on site.

Springwood Mall, historically the larger of the two, had to postpone the launch of its reopening which was originally slated for late June.

The rivalry stepped up this month after the opening at Arndale of Amin’s Butcher and Grill, which has been attracting customers with delicious smells of cooked meats.

The overhaul at Springwood Mall, owned by Chin Hong and Centro Investments, has taken longer with the centre’s new upper car park off Fitzgerald Ave opening this month.

The car park has allowed access to the new Woolworths’ drive-through parcel pick up.

The Springwood Mall, anchored by Woolworths, has Fat Chooks Carvery opening.

Springwood Mall also announced a “tenancy split” of the Target site and works for special fire services, along with external and internal demolition works.

Its $16 million overhaul was expected to have been completed by June with a modern exterior planned, along with a new facade and new front door entries.

But work was still continuing, including internal travelators to the expanded underground car park and plans for the al fresco dining precinct at the front of the centre.

Brisbane-born brothers Philip and Michael Tan also recently opened their popular Kai Kai Chicken restaurant.

The Springwood venture followed the success of their first restaurant, Seoul Bistro in Sunnybank, known for its award-winning Fried Chicken Buffet.

Their first restaurant served Korean fare, but after introducing the buffet they were booked out for six months and decided to stick with that recipe.

Kai Kai Chicken is giving two southside shopping centres a run for their money with this Springwood restaurant opening recently.

They first opened Kaikai Chicken at St Lucia in Brisbane’s inner west, where they have been for five years.

“Even though we moved across town, we still had many southsiders requesting another restaurant so we thought there was no better place than Springwood in Logan,” Phillip Tan said.

“Fried chicken is very common, it’s in every bar, every takeaway and almost every burger shop — but we are different.

“We use fresh whole wings which keeps the meat juicy and full of flavour and all our sauces are made in house and are not out of a bottle.”

Consolidated Properties Group, which owns the 11,000 sqm Arndale Centre anchored by Coles, said its new food-focused tenants had already attracted more customers and said Springwood was growing as a new eatery destination.

Consolidated executive director Craig O’Donnell said since the company had bought the centre in 2019 for $35.5 million, it had re-established the complex as a modern outlet to meet daily shopping needs as well as bringing on flagship outlets such as Planet Fitness.

Amin’s Butcher and Grill owner Amin Odeh said the Arndale Centre was the ideal place for his second butcher shop and restaurant.

He said Amin’s Butcher and Grill, along with HaHa Chicken, had already proved they were what shoppers wanted after the two-year refurbishment.

The butcher signed a 10-year lease on a 180 sqm tenancy with outdoor seating for its second location and HaHa Chicken signed a five-year lease for a 60 sqm shop with outdoor seating, also for its second store.

Amin’s Butcher and Grill owner Amin Odeh said the Arndale Centre was the ideal place for his second butcher shop and restaurant.

“Springwood is an up-and-coming area that is yet to experience anything like what we offer,” Mr Odeh said.

“We opened our first butcher and restaurant two-and-half-years ago in West End and since then have built a very loyal customer base.

“People love getting to pick their meat fresh from the butcher and then having it cooked to order in the same location.”

Mr Odeh said the halal butcher shop had a strong following from the Muslim community but continued to attract a mixed customer base, with a focus on cost and quality.

The new shop was a hive of activity when it opened on July 9, giving away free burgers to show customers what was on offer.

Ha Ha Chicken has opened at Springwood at the Arndale Centre.

For those not looking for red meats, HaHa Chicken has opened its second restaurant in Logan, after its Hyperdome outlet tripled in size mainly after the popularity of its Japanese-style karage chicken.

HaHa Chicken owner Angela So said she chose to open her second store at Arndale because it had exposure to the Pacific Hwy and was a six-minute drive from her Loganholme store.

“The centre also recently underwent a $20 million refurbishment so presents really well, which is important to us and our customers,” she said.

“Many customers come to our sushi store specifically to buy our karage chicken and we are taking the opportunity of the new store to introduce a range of new flavours including Japanese wasabi mayo, Korean snow cheese and Taiwanese salt crisp.

“We also have milk tea which, when paired with fried chicken, makes for a magical combination.”