The $5 million transformation of Brisbane’s most famous yum cha restaurant into an adult’s playground is almost complete, as operators plan a homage to Fortitude Valley’s most famous arrest.
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operators → plan → arrest
King of Kings Seafood Restaurant operated at the Wickham Street site, which also had frontage on the Chinatown Mall, between the 1980s and its closure in 2020.
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which → operate → 2020
Come February, it will be home to Ballers Clubhouse, a “competitive socialising” venue full of interactive games such as darts, ping-pong, shuffleboard and ball pit karaoke (exactly what it sounds like) and a sports bar featuring large LED screen walls.
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it → sound → walls
Just across the mall, the late Jack Karlson was arrested in 1991, eventually sparking global memes about succulent Chinese meals.
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Karlson → arrest → meals
“We’re planning on using that moment in a sort of homage, and we might be naming something on the menu after that moment and that guy,” Ballers chief executive Joshua Lefers said.
“So look out for that.”
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Lefers → plan → that
The 600-capacity, 1083-square-metre venue was approved in late 2023, and the opening date has now been set at February 1, 2027 – almost two years later than originally planned.
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date → approve → February
The long timeframe between approval and completion was down to several factors, including what Ballers co-founder and chief commercial officer Stephen Wools described as the “skeletons” they found during the refurbishment.
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they → include → refurbishment
“Not literal skeletons,” Wools was quick to point out.
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Wools → point → ?
“There was so much more complexity to look at with this site than we’re probably used to.
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we → be → site
The positives that came out of that was we were able to optimise the design.
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we → come → design
We feel this is probably our best design to date.”
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this → feel → date
Lefers said he hoped Ballers would be the start of a renaissance for the Chinatown area of the Valley, which had fallen into business decline over the past couple of decades.
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which → say → decades
“We’re very excited, understanding the Olympics is coming up, and it’s a surprise to have vacant shop fronts and everything not absolutely full yet – but I think it will be,” he said.
“Even having contact with a lot of other businesses and landlords – and our own landlords – you can see it’s really starting to pick up.”
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it → ’re → businesses
Wools said they were not the only ones investing in the precinct.
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they → say → precinct
“You’ve got AVC [Australian Venue Co] who have just bought up four or five venues.
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who → get → venues
Everyone’s gearing up for the Olympics, some six years out, so I think the Valley is actually going to have a bit of a comeback as we go,” he said.
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he → gear → comeback
Wools said the real advantage of the heritage-listed site was its familiarity.
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advantage → say → site
“Everyone in Brisbane knows that site, so when you tell people that Ballers is going to be at King of Kings, people know exactly where to go,” he said.
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he → know → Kings
Ballers Clubhouse started with a single venue in Melbourne’s CBD in 2020.
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Clubhouse → start → 2020
It has since opened a second Melbourne venue, in Carlton, and expanded interstate to Adelaide before Brisbane.
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It → open → Brisbane
There were also plans to investigate potential sites in Sydney and Perth, and Ballers has also committed $3 million to a new venue in Geelong.
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Ballers → be → Geelong
The new Brisbane venue was expected to employ up to 100 hospitality workers as it scaled.
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it → expect → workers
“I think in the next couple of years, as AI starts to dominate the human landscape, we’re going to be craving moments of connectivity,” Wools said.
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Wools → think → connectivity
“Hospitality does this at a really high level for people, and I know people suffered with a lack of connection with people during COVID.
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people → know → COVID
“If you look back through your photos of the last 20 or 30 years, a lot of your favourite moments when you’re celebrating with friends, family, loved ones, are in a hospitality setting.
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you → look → setting
“We take that role really, really seriously and we want to make sure we allow people to unlock and have fun.”
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people → take → fun
According to the assessment report submitted to Brisbane City Council, Ballers has sought licensing for operating hours of 10am to 5am, seven days a week.
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Ballers → accord → 5
Long before it was King of Kings, the site was constructed for furniture merchant William Walton, whose business was central to establishing Wickham Street as a major commercial strip in the early 1900s.
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business → construct → 1900s
Its preserved external heritage features include a slate cantilevered balcony, wrought iron balustrade, flat pilasters, French doors and a decorative brick parapet with corbelled cornices and urns.
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features → preserve → cornices
The Aporia
