DESIGN AND BUILD: THE CROWN

Big picture thinking

The Crown in Brisbane’s inner north fits snugly into the local community as its operator Australian Venue Co powers through its ambitious plan to bring dozens of Queensland pubs back to the people.

HERITAGE PUB The Crown Hotel threw open the doors to the local Lutwyche community in Brisbane’s inner north last November after a major $2.4 million makeover.

The historic pub has been part of Brisbane’s pub scene since 1881, and its operator Australian Venue Co. (AVC) wanted to celebrate the pub’s heritage and character while revitalising the design and dining options.

The project saw the 140-year-old hotel completely transformed to include a stylish new bistro, sports bar and beer garden. AVC chief operating officer Craig Ellison says the refurbished venue offers the drinking and dining experience of a city pub, but with the casual charm of a neighbourhood hangout.

the bistro dining area features translucent wallpaper, cedar ceilings and exposed original timber trusses.

The new food menu by executive chef Dylan Kemp and head chef Jamie Blake focuses on quality pub classics and fresh, producedriven dishes, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

The latest renovation is just one example in a broader $53m project by AVC to revamp numerous Queensland venues and revitalise the state’s pub scene.

The focus of the renovations is on outdoor spaces, food and beverage, with each tailored to their local community. AVC spent around $2m on each, increasing their size, their outdoor areas, and creating lighter and brighter dining and gaming areas, Ellison says. “It’s not rocket science – the secret sauce is land intensification, food, and making them more bespoke to the local community.”

AVC operates 86 pubs in Queensland, more than in any other state, and the project, announced last year, involves rejuvenating two dozen or so of these. The strategy was hatched following a $200m deal that saw AVC take over the running of the Spirits Hotel business from Coles three years ago.

In Queensland, licensing laws dictate that bottle shop owners must also own a pub nearby. Under the deal, Coles and AVC formed a joint venture which would see AVC run the pubs business, leaving Coles free to focus on its bottle shops.

“I’m a Queensland boy so I jumped at the opportunity,” Ellison says. “I knew these pubs back in the ‘80s – they were big entertainment venues and were well looked after.”

Fast forward a few decades, he says, and they had become the poor cousins of the bottle shops. “They were in poor condition. It was a huge opportunity to renovate them and give them back to Queensland residents, and to bring live music back to the suburbs.”

An eclectic twist

The Crown, Ellison says, is just one example of the strategy. The renovation, which kicked off in the middle of last year, took five months and was completed in early November.

DC Group Pty Ltd + Newline Design were the team behind the design and the brief included boosting the pub’s footprint.

The Crown had presented some unique challenges – it is located on a busy road, it had a smaller footprint, and it was not hitting the mark with locals as the suburb’s working class roots have shifted into a broader mix of people from different walks of life, including artists and businesspeople.

The beer garden has a paved courtyard, feature timber pergola elements and a custom mural.

“The Crown hadn’t been touched from a renovation point of view for 25 years,” Ellison says. “Not a cent had been spent on it, and it was not a nice place to be.

“The aim was to make it a true neighbourhood pub. With people working from home, suburban pubs like The Crown are trading well.”

Meeting the challenge

To suit the neighbourhood, AVC opted for a more eclectic space, while keeping to the venue’s roots, with food to be a focus to appeal to the local afterwork crowd.

“We really dialled up the dining offering, and food sales are enormous – it’s been a good addition to the group,” Ellison says.

Food is a focus to appeal to the local after-work crowd.

Because of the pub’s location on a major thoroughfare, noise containment was a priority, so in addition to glass-proofing, the food and beverage spaces were moved to the back of the venue.

Improved traffic flows and the sound attenuation were also important elements. “It’s the sort of place you can settle into and spend a day – the way it feels, the flow, and it’s not too noisy and as a result, it has a long dwell time.

“It’s sessionable – you can go there and sit all day or have a quick bite. It’s light and airy and there’s lots of movement.”

Because of the pub’s location on a major thoroughfare, the food and beverage spaces were moved to the back of the venue.

The heritage aspect was also a key factor in the design. “We kept the heritage overlay of the whole pub. While we couldn’t touch the façade, we stripped all that we could and that totally changed the look and feel,” Ellison says.

“We also kept the pavilion at the back as it is another heritage feature, so now it’s an undercover dining space.”

The new spaces

“The data told us there was a mixture of people – a lot of young families and young singles – a good broad demo, so we wanted a clean environment, open spaces, and to be more feminine,” Ellison says.

With this in mind, the refurbished bistro has an open-air area that looks onto the new beer garden and heritage pavilion, with seating for 140 patrons for casual drinking and dining.

“The bistro leads downstairs to a beautiful beer garden. It’s brand new, and a really popular spot,” Ellison says. “Although it’s hot in summer, the trees provide shade, and lots of people come along with their dogs.”

AVC also spent money on the gaming room and sports bar, giving it a light renovation including a new floor, wood panels, and new screens.

“It’s modern sports bar with a leather tanned overlay – it’s oldy worldly but modern in appearance,” Ellison says. “We haven’t lost that market – they still come through.”

Designing history

DC Group Pty Ltd + Newline Design created the The Crown’s new design. Director Jon Mikulic says in addition to refurbishing the existing spaces, the company was tasked with and highlighting opportunities to expand the footprint and the offer.

“AVC saw the opportunity to create an entirely new venue in a location that was really quite starved for choice,” he says.

Mikulic says they sought to maintain original character of the building and its history within the local community, but with a fresh new approach.

“The new areas needed to compliment this approach without simply mimicking the original period fabric of the building,” he says. “The design changed numerous times due to heritage constraints – but the emphasis on making a connection to the new outside areas was paramount in my view.”

Mikulic says refurbishments involving heritage aspects need to “carefully show restraint whilst trying to avoid the obvious twee mimicking of period features”.

“Being respectful of the origins of the building, researching the surrounds and being bold without being disrespectful are the keys to a successful outcome.”

The pavilion dining area – a refurbished heritage building – was given an opening to both sides to allow for a seamless connection from front to back and a view onto the beer garden, as well as new timber flooring and feature lighting.

The beer garden area, meanwhile, now has a paved courtyard with feature timber pergola elements and a custom mural, festoon lighting, and a heavy emphasis on landscaping.

Mikulic says the bistro dining area with its translucent wallpaper, cedar ceilings and exposed original timber trusses are among his favourite features of the refurbished venue.

The Crown has been transformed from a dark and neglected venue into contemporary pub with space and light, lots of natural wood, exposed brickworks, tanned leather, and enlarged murals on the walls to inject colour.

“The locals love it,” Ellison says. “We are seeing some of the same faces two to three nights a week, so it’s a proper local.”