Flinders St venue Cactus Saloon rebranded 273E after major revamp
A Flinders St venue has been revamped and rebranded ahead of the opening of the new stadium next year.
Townsville
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A FLINDERS St venue has been revamped and rebranded ahead of the new year.
The venue formerly know as Cactus Saloon has been renamed after its street address 237E Flinders St, or 237E for short, ahead of the opening of the Queensland Country Bank Stadium next year.
Owner Trent van Grinsven said he was wanted to “grow a unique identity” following the soft opening of 273E a few weeks ago.
“Our Cactus Saloon (was) a popular place, most people would be happy, but being so tightly linked to Cactus Jack’s has made it hard to really grow a unique identity, to explore things we have wanted to try for a long time,” he said.
“We wanted a name that identified the place but didn’t bind us to a fixed style, so we could experiment, keep it fresh, keep evolving when new ideas came our way.”
Construction to the new look second level cocktail lounge started earlier in the year, with the vision of making it feel like the SkyBar on the balcony above.
The new cocktail bar now feels modern, with elegant timber touches and a bigger bar.
“The biggest change is a completely revamped middle level, we call it the L2 Lounge. The L2 lounge is completely different from the Cactus Jack’s we had in there before,” Mr van Grinsven said.
“Besides the new outdoor deck overlooking Flinders Street, fresh interior and bigger bar, we now have a global tapas menu bringing together a wild range of cuisines.
“The menu is designed by Melbourne chef David Hall, who is doing really great things in the Melbourne food scene, in collaboration with our own group chef Graeme Tate.
“The L2 Lounge menu has dishes we have wanted to try for years but could never fit in with our other brands because they are a bit eclectic, a fresh take.”
Mr van Grinsven said the ground floor and balcony had been kept classic and did not want to change the working formula, fearing it could “mess with the feng shui”.
“Moving forward we see 237E having three separate identities under one roof, the higher energy Saloon Bar on the ground, the more sophisticated L2 Lounge and deck in the middle and the laid back tropical SkyBar on the roof,” he said.
The other Cactus Jack’s venues on Palmer St and Cannon Park will remain the same.
Originally published as Flinders St venue Cactus Saloon rebranded 273E after major revamp