6 hours Ago By Matt Shea
With all the uncertainty surrounding The Star’s future in Brisbane, one question preoccupies the local food and drink industry more than any other: what will happen to the independently owned restaurants at Queen’s Wharf if the casino operator goes belly up? From September, there was a bum-rush of openings on the precinct’s fourth-floor dining terrace: Black Hide, Azteca, Luc Lac, Dark Shepherd, Pompette, Cucina Regina and Hua, with all but Regina and Hua run by outside operators. Well, according to restaurateur Michael Tassis, it will be business as usual for the independents, regardless of what happens to The Star. “To be honest with you, it’s still going really great,” says Tassis, who owns Dark Shepherd and Pompette.
“I speak to most of the operators up there and they’re happy. The foot traffic is still buzzing, and I still think it’s only going to get busier.” In the past month, Queen’s Wharf co-owner and casino operator Star Entertainment Group declared it only had $79 million left in the bank.
Revenue fell 15 per cent in the last quarter, and administration, or a possible fire sale, was looking more likely . “Whatever’s happening in the background, we’re just making sure we’re focusing on what we’re doing, and bringing something different to the precinct,” Tassis says. Chook sanger of your dreams? Find it in a sleepy Holland Park street “It’s a shame there’s been a bit of bad media coverage, but no matter what happens, it’s still a massive asset in the middle of the city.
“We’re detached from the casino,” Tassis says. “It’s Destination Brisbane Consortium [the joint venture between The Star Entertainment Group and two Hong Kong-based partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium] that is our landlords.” The managing director of Potentia Solutions Leisure, Ross Ledingham, says he has noticed a decline in bookings at its Azteca restaurant, but puts much of that down to the traditional January hangover from the Christmas period.
“We’ve gone from fully booked for lunch and dinner, seven days, and turning the restaurant two or three times a night,” he says. “When you’re doing just one sitting on a Thursday night, it’s different, but the spend per head is still there, and you get to build a better rapport with guests, which will help in the long run. “We haven’t been given any reason to be concerned.
The city’s been quiet because there are still not many people back [at work], and we’ve just been through the Australia Day long weekend, and school’s going back, so it’s [pretty normal] for this time of year, in that sense.” Ledingham’s only worries are the operational kinks that would come if The Star went into administration, but he says they’re things the restaurant will deal with if and when they come up. “It’s business as usual, but if The Star does close down, we have to lodge with the receiving dock downstairs for deliveries, for example, and we all have a fridge and storage units down there where we all get our deliveries .
.. obviously, if that stops [it could cause issues].
“[What if] there’s no master, there’s no member of staff? I guess at some point we’re going to find out.” Ledingham also wonders about other aspects of the precinct that might be interrupted, such as public access to parking, and electricity supply. “There are all these things, and none of us really know what’s what.
It’s not going to stop us trading, but what if the electricity gets turned off? None of us have our own meters. “[But] my insurance policy means if the building were to close for any reason, I’m covered for loss of trade, and so on and so forth.” A third operator refused to go on record but echoed Tassis and Ledingham’s general positivity about trading through any potential closure of the casino, although they expressed concern about whether financial sweeteners such as discounted leases would remain in place.
“Whether it’s The Star [operating the casino] or someone else, this is still an incredible asset for the city,” Tassis says. “This has just been the first stage. There’s so much more to go into it, and that’s exciting to me.
” As for The Star’s own food and beverage, beyond Cucina Regina and Hua, it boasts Sokyo within the hotel, and Aloria, Babblers and Cicada Blu on the precinct’s Sky Deck. Their future is less certain if the group goes into administration. “All of The Star-operated food and beverage outlets across the precinct have successfully launched,” a Star spokesperson said.
“These are open to the public and operating business as usual, complementing the many other diverse dining experiences at Queen’s Wharf.”.
