Twelve years after hosting their first Oktoberfest in the Supreme Court Gardens, former cricket teammates Ross Drennan and Drew Flanaghan are neck-deep and mid-build in two impressive mega-pubs.
The dynamic duo behind events company-turned-hospitality operators Nokturnl are poised to open The Station, an underground French-inspired restaurant and ground-level bar in (and under) the old South Perth police station by the end of the year.
And then the Perth publicans should unveil Stories, the reimagined, reinvigorated and heavily renovated second coming of the failed Yagan Square development.
That ambitious city project, which features a two-storey rooftop pub, beerhall in the former food court, train-themed cocktail bar and three restaurants plus alfresco area, is due to pour its first beer by next March..
The Station and Stories will join Nokturnl’s burgeoning portfolio alongside The Old Synagogue in Fremantle, which opened in late 2019, and The Beaufort in Highgate, which opened last year.
So far both existing multi-venue dining and drinking precincts have gone gangbusters.
That’s a pleasing surprise for the partners, who once claimed they were “never gonna get into pubs”, according to Drennan, who gave Bar & Bites a sneak peek of both construction sites.
The 2000-capacity Stories is “the biggest risk we’ve taken to date,” he says as we climb scaffolding, “it’s probably going to cost somewhere in the order of $12-ish million”.
That’s a huge gamble, even with the approval of the State Government, which awarded Nokturnl the Yagan Square site with a 30-year lease via a tender process.
Stories is the biggest risk we’ve taken to date.
“We don’t have a deadline as such but we were definitely asked to get the site activated as quickly as possible,” Drennan adds.
“The Government have been brilliant to work with. They are as desperate as everyone else to turn this asset into something that works.”
Stories is an unwieldy project, with multiple spaces, frustrating angles and a train tunnel underneath. But it’s also on prime real estate with the original structure to play with.
“Yagan is going to be spectacular,” Drennan says. “It’s either going to be spectacularly good or spectacularly bad.
“But we’ll never get an opportunity like this again. When do you ever get this many square metres in the middle of the CBD?”
The old market hall has been gutted to make space for the airy Stories Pourhouse, which will spill out into an alfresco area. Expect long tables, around 20 beer taps, a glass keg room, screens for sports and a small playground just outside of the licensed outdoor space.
On a mezzanine level, modern Asian restaurant Karla (Noongar for fire) will loom over the alfresco area and be led by The Beaufort’s Sundoo Kim, who will be executive chef for both venues.
Down past the huge new kitchen will be an intimate cocktail bar, working title: The Fat Controller.
Overlooking Wellington Street, Ficus Kitchen and Bar will become an Italian trattoria while the partners aren’t quite sure what to do with the northern space formerly occupied by Shy John Brewery and Yum Cha.
Street Eats, Japanese diner Hiss & Smoke, Korean restaurant Gangnam and popular pub The Shoe will all stay put.
Drennan describes the lofty Stories Rooftop bar being built on top of the old playground as “The Beaufort on the roof”.
The water feature will be incorporated in the pub, which will have a retractable roof over the dance floor. If renders are anything to go by, the place will have an open, breezy resort feel.
Drennan hopes to feature live music, and work with Fringe World and local promoters to ensure Stories Rooftop is the place to be during summer.
He plans to increase the greenery throughout Stories, which will initially employ around 300 staff, to soften “quite a harsh environment”.
Nokturnl wants to make Stories a place people are drawn to seven days a week, in contrast to its unwelcoming former self.
“You couldn’t even see into the market hall,” Drennan says. “If you saw that place humming with activity, you’d naturally be drawn into it. For us, it’s about opening it up and making use of the outdoor area.”
He’s confident that with superb access to public transport and location between the CBD and Northbridge, plus the neighbouring ECU campus due to open in 2025, Stories should draw a crowd.
Meanwhile, The Station is part of Finbar’s Civic Heart development at 1 Mends Street.
After two years of planning and approvals, Nokturnl received permission to build a kitchen and 130-seater underground restaurant around the old police station, which was built in 1908.
Above the restaurant, named Ludo after head chef Ludovic Mulot (ex-Rockpool), will be an alfresco area with a separate menu offering “higher end” pub grub than the nearby Windsor Hotel.
The cop shop, which is heritage listed, will become a small pub with bars servicing indoor and outdoor zones.
With urban in-fill projects such as Civic Heart increasing the local population, Drennan is sure South Perth has the market to support The Station.
“We love Perth. With our events business we operate all over the country, but wouldn’t live anywhere else,” he says.
“You see how the hospitality scene has changed over the past 20 years. It’s be interesting to see how it goes in the next 20.”
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