The Gold Coast Bulletin

NEXT LEVEL

Southport’s trendy new deli and rooftop bar may even sway southerner­s to spend more time in our CBD, writes Sally Coates

- Mr PP’s Deli & Rooftop, 43 Nerang Street, Southport

MR PP’s Deli & Rooftop is more than just another new bar. It’s history, character and revitalisa­tion, mixed in with the more convention­al ingredient­s of a modern venue.

Co-owner Ben Howe and his family own the neighbouri­ng ambulance building, operating coworking site CoSpaces.

He says being in such proximity every day, he’d always seen the building’s potential, so when it came up for auction he and business partners Arran Woollams (owner of design company Spacecubed), Kiel Sinclair, Sam Rees and Matt Williams raised their paddles .

“I started doing research and found out the building was the old Maternal Welfare Centre, built in 1967 and designed by quite a famous midcentury modern architect, Karl Langer,” Ben says.

“It took me a long time to figure out what it was before that. I spent quite a long time trawling through a lot of photos and newspapers when I found an old newspaper article talking about how they built the post office in 1909 and next to it the post master’s residence.”

That’s where Mr PP, a very real character, comes in.

“We stumbled across this character called Mr PP Agnew, he was the first post and telegraph manager in Southport,” Ben says.

“He came down from Beenleigh to set up the first telegraph line in 1883. There were lots of news articles about him.

“He used to write plays and star in them ... he’d act out four or five roles in these plays .

“He was a really great illustrato­r, artist and photograph­er, just a really funny character. “We thought, ‘This guy’s fantastic’.

“We wanted to unearth the historical spirit of the site and he seemed like the perfect fit.”

That’s why you’ll find tributes to Mr PP everywhere, from the name to original examples of his work Ben and Arran found by tracking down the post master’s living relatives.

As for the food and liquid assets, downstairs is a European themed deli with high quality cheeses, meats and canned delicacies you can mix and match to nibble on while sampling whiskies and wines.

Upstairs is for relaxing, with the open balcony and a menu of antipasto, mains and pizzas making it ideal for post-work wind-downs and casual weekend drinks.

If you’re not yet convinced to head SoPo side, southerner­s, Mr PP’s head chef is Jimmy Atto, of Justin Lane fame.

“I think something like Mr PP’s has been lacking in Southport, and the northern end really, for so long,” Ben says.

“Just adding more venues into Southport will make it more of a destinatio­n. You can catch the light rail, go to Chinatown, there’s two really quirky karaoke bars – it’s a really fun, urban setting. People will start realising there’s a lot more to Southport and that’s what we want to do, we want to make it a destinatio­n.”

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GOLDCOASTB­ULLETIN.COM.AU TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017
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