Popular riverfront wedding venue, cafe in shock closure

A popular riverfront wedding venue and cafe will close from this Sunday after news its lease will not be renewed. It comes hot on the heels of nearby Belvedere Bar N Grill announcing it will shut after more than a decade.

Management of one of Brisbane’s most popular riverfront cafes and wedding venues, Northshore Harbour Cafe, are angry and shocked after being told this week their lease will not be renewed.

The news comes after another nearby riverfront Hamilton venue, Belvedere Bar N Grill at Portside Wharf, announced overnight (June 23) that it would shut.

Northshore Harbour Cafe has built up a loyal following since it opened in 2014, serving one million cups of coffee in that time and hosting more than 1000 weddings.

Manager Kelly Harrison said she was told on Tuesday and had no inkling it was coming.

“I just put on a new wait person, they’ve only done three or four shifts,’’ Ms Harrison said.

“I feel really bad for them as I lured them over from a cafe at the (Newstead) Gasworks.

Northshore Harbour Cafe was a popular wedding venue.

“I’ve got eight front of house casuals and five in the kitchen, although one of them coincidentally got a new job last week and will be OK.’’

There was no word on a new tenant. Ms Harrison said she was considering opening a coffee cart to help her loyal customers in the meantime.

“It’s not just them who are devastated. Because the ferry terminal is out the front we do the coffees and lunches for the CityCat crews — they phone ahead or order on our app,’’ she said.

“There’s also a Council bus stop nearby and we do coffees and lunches for the drivers.

The cafe owner was believed to be overseas and could not be contacted.

The venue is owned by Council, which leased it to Frasers Property Australia.

Frasers, which has a sales office nearby, subleased to the cafe management.

“Frasers Property has been the lessee for the cafe premises for over a decade,’’ a company spokesman said.

“Our agreement with Brisbane City Council, the cafe’s owner, is that we manage the sub-letting of the premises in accordance with its requirements.

“In May 2021, Council advised they would not be making an offer to renew the lease with Frasers Property and that it would expire in February, 2022, at which point they would be going out to tender.

“Since then, the lease has been operating on a month-to-month basis, with Council advising it will seek proposals from cafe operators later this year to take over the lease as part of a re-tendering process required by law.

The cafe's idyllic outlook over the river. Management survived the February floods unscathed, only to be told on Tuesday that their lease would not be renewed.

“We notified the operators of Northshore Harbour Cafe of this requirement and encouraged them to participate, as we have enjoyed them being part of the community.

“However, we appreciate the uncertainty they would face between now and the end of the tender period is difficult for a small business to navigate.

“We look forward to welcoming a new cafe operator to the Hamilton Reach community at the end of the Council tender period.’’

Council procedure for cafes and other hospitality venues it owns is to formally re-tender when lease agreements come to an end.

This has caused controversy in the past, including with the leases over a cafe at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, another on the Goodwill Bridge, one at a clifftop cafe at Kangaroo Point and The Summit Cafe and Restaurant atop Mt Coot-tha.

All four are now under new management and all business are popular and busy.

Council was approached for comment.

“The lease has expired and we have been unable to secure a long-term lease,’’ Northshore Harbour Cafe posted on social media on Thursday (June 23) night.

“We are confident the winners of the new tender for lease will do justice to this fantastic cafe.

The cafe was under the same management since 2014 and built up a loyal following.

“Thank you for all your patronage and support over the past eight years.

“We have operated the Northshore Harbour Cafe successfully since 2014 and we look back fondly on our success.

“In our time in the kitchen and cafe we have delivered over a million cups of coffee, over a hundred thousands meals, over a thousand weddings, hundreds of private functions and numerous public events for over 500 people at each event.

“Most importantly, there have been thousands and thousands of happy customers.’’

The news was greeted with an outpouring of emotion from customers, wedding guests and brides.

Julie posted: “Love bringing my clients down for coffee and lunches. Attended a wedding a few years ago and it was just lovely. Thank you for everything, all the best.’’

Rebecca wrote: “Thank you for the many wonderful memories, most of all our awesome wedding in April.’’