Last drinks will be called for some of Brisbane's finest bars and restaurants this weekend as they make way for a $2 billion overhaul of a prime riverside precinct.
Key points:
- Eagle Street Pier's white buildings will be demolished to make way for a $2 billion redevelopment
- Dexus will start construction in the coming years on its Waterfront Brisbane office towers
- Restaurants at the pier will close their doors for the last time this weekend
Restaurants including Fatcow Steak & Lobster, Naga Thai, Coppa Spuntino, Rico Bar & Dining and Mr & Mrs G Riverbar will close their doors ahead of the demolition of Eagle Street Pier.
The site is slated for Dexus' $2 billion Waterfront Brisbane redevelopment, which will include two office towers, retail and dining, public plazas and an upgraded riverwalk.
Dining history
Some of the restaurants and bars closing this weekend snapped up temporary leases when previous dining icons such as Cha Cha Char and Il Centro closed their doors in the wake of Dexus' announcement in 2018.
Dexus issued all remaining businesses at Eagle Street Pier with a six-month notice to leave at the start of the year.
Mr and Mrs G Riverbar co-owner Chris Higgins said he had no regrets about his restaurant's short stay at the Pier.
He said he had known the closure was coming for about 18 months.
"But we did believe even back then — we still believed six months ago — we might even get a couple more years or at least one more year yet before they'd start," he said.
Dexus' development is currently under appeal in the planning court over objections from neighbouring tower and apartment owners over its scale and bulk.
Movers and shakers
Waterfront Brisbane will be the next chapter in a bustling part of Brisbane that in the 1800s was home to the city's wharves and maritime industry.
The Australasian Steam Navigation Company operated from Eagle Street from the 1800s well into the 1960s, when the industry fell into decline and the area was used for car parking.
Eagle Street Pier's white semi-circular buildings were then constructed for Expo '88, Brisbane's emergence from country town to capital city, and quickly became the home of fine dining.
For decades it was known as the place for movers and shakers to meet, eat, and negotiate.
Mr Higgins said he had a long history with Eagle Street Pier, having learnt the ropes with restaurateur John Kilroy in the 1990s before moving on to his own career in hospitality.
He was called back to the pier in the 2000s and has been involved there in one way or another since.
"It's a little bit sad … it's the end of an era of an iconic Brisbane dining precinct and one that I've been personally involved with since 1997," he said.
"Many of us are still close and great mates to this day."
Next steps
Major consultancies Deloitte and MinterEllison confirmed in February they had secured precommitments with Dexus to move into Waterfront Brisbane's north tower, taking up nearly 30 per cent of the total 120,000 square metres of planned office space.
Dexus said a date for the start of demolition and construction on their major project was to be confirmed, and a court decision was pending.
The first tower is slated to be completed in 2027.