Kafeneion, Con Christopoulos’s hit Greek pop-up restaurant on Bourke Street, has found a semi-permanent home at another of his city venues − and the restaurateur already has a new concept for the vacant Bourke Street site.

Since the original Kafeneion closed in December, speculation about its future has been building. When he opened the restaurant last May, Christopoulos said he intended to find it a larger, permanent home. Fans won’t have to wait long or travel far to get their next plate of braised lamb.

On February 7, Melbourne Supper Club on Spring Street will morph into a spot just like the late-night bars you find upstairs in Athens’ old quarter, according to Christopoulos.

“I was sitting in there the other night and it just felt good. We started playing Greek music. We’ve had a lot of family events in there, so it has nice memories,” he says.

Christopoulos (also behind The European, Kirks Wine Bar and French Saloon) and his Kafeneion partner, Stavros Konis, still want to find the venue its very own home, but these digs will be as permanent as anything is in hospitality.

The plan means one Melbourne icon makes way for another in the making. Kafeneion proved to be an instant classic when it opened, with The Age’s chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell writing that its service, style and food were so very Melbourne it made her swoon.

Christopoulos says the menu will undergo seasonal changes only and the same furniture and table settings will come from the original. But the look will undoubtedly feel more like a salon, thanks to Melbourne Supper Club’s split-level layout punctuated by staircases, walls and other nooks creating a clubby atmosphere.

The biggest change might be the hours: Kafeneion can now stay open until 4am (for drinks and snacks, not dinner), thanks to the Supper Club’s late-night licence.

Meanwhile, Kafeneion’s previous Bourke Street site (originally Self Preservation) is being transformed into something that’s a radical departure for the Christopoulos stable: a sushi train restaurant with a strong Brazilian theme running through the drinks, music and decor.

More than 2 million Japanese and their descendants live in Brazil, the largest population outside Japan.

“I’ve had some incredible Japanese meals in Brazil,” says Christopoulos.

Less mall, more made-to-measure, Bossa Nova Sushi will serve fast yet high-quality Japanese food via a sushi train to 26 people, with takeaway also available. Drinks will range from sake to Caipirinhas, the Brazilian cocktail of cachaca (sugar cane spirit) mixed with lime and sugar.

Bossa Nova Sushi’s dishes will begin leaving the station by winter. The sushi train is currently in storage and a new kitchen is ready to be installed.

Kafeneion opens February 7.

Level 1, 161 Spring Street, Melbourne, kafeneion.com.au