CBD hotel rises from the ashes

A BRISBANE heritage-listed pub, which has survived all that floods, economic ups and downs and the odd scandal could throw at it over its colourful 155-year history, has risen again.

The Port Office Hotel, on the corner of Edward and Margaret streets in the Brisbane CBD, has completed a sevenmonth $2 million plus rebuilding program after a fire in the kitchen of its dining room in January.

For publicans Meagan and Nick Gregorski, who bought and refurbished the hotel in 2017 and transformed it into an award-winning gastropub, it was never a case of walking away.

With support from regulars from the corporate world the Gregorskis started over again and seven months later it has returned to its former glory.

“When news of the fire spread, this incredible group of local regulars materialised, ready to do whatever was needed,” Mrs Gregorski said.

“While they couldn’t help with the rebuild, they certainly maintained their loyalty, even when we only had two beers on tap and three lunch dishes on the menu created from a tiny kitchenette upstairs. They kept coming every day. Without them, it would have been heartbreaking. We call them The Front Bar Army.”

The dining room of the historic hotel had to be gutted and rebuilt while there work was done on the front bar and the upstairs Colonial Bar which suffered smoke and water damage.

The dining room – nicknamed The Office – is now open for business, while the front bar, with its old-school style timber long bar, is humming as is the Colonial Bar takes over the full floor, including wraparound veranda. – Chris Herde