Expected to reopen in the first quarter of 2023 after its ongoing renovation, the iconic General Post Office building in Fortitude Valley, otherwise known as the GPO Hotel, will soon have a new, ‘fine dining’ venue as part of a $7-million makeover.
Hospitality group Artesian announced that the 135-year-old site will feature a new restaurant once it opens next year. Although details about the upcoming new venue are yet to be revealed, it seems that Executive Chef Richard Ousby and sommelier and former OTTO Brisbane General Manager Alan Hunter will be joining forces to deliver a whole new dining experience to the Brisbane scene.
Ousby was at one time with Michelin three-star Waterside Inn in England and was also a former Sous Chef at Quay Restaurant in Sydney and Executive Chef at Stokehouse restaurants in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Meanwhile, Hunter’s impressive resume includes a Pol Roger 2013 Sommelier of the Year award as well as being part of the OTTO Brisbane team that took home Good Food Guide’s 2019 Wine List of the Year award.
GPO Hotel was built in 1887 at a 2,000-sqm site located at 740 Ann Street in Fortitude Valley. After operating as a nightclub, it remained idle for two years during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, it was sold to an investment arm helmed by Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis. Artesian Hospitality later signed a 25-year lease on the multi-building site.
The project comes on the heels of Cali Beach Club’s successful 2021 opening. The new $ 10-million precinct features poolside cabanas, two world-class restaurants, bars, sports facilities, and four large pools.
Artesian’s growing portfolio also includes Surfers Pavilion, White Rhino, Saké Sisters, and Havana RnB.
Also earmarked to be turned into a multi-venue precinct is the Surfers Paradise site, where Cali Beach is also located, and later as Artesian’s new corporate headquarters.
