“Once we cycle through really excavating the hotel, making an area for the gaming downstairs next to the speakeasy, having the sports bar and open bar facility up on ground [level], restaurant on [level] one, the rooftop beer garden – once the extent of that is complete, we’ll then shut down that temporary gaming facility and turn our mind to enhancing the outdoor area,” he said.
“It’s really part of Brisbane’s vernacular, right? So we’re excited to do something special in that beer garden.”
The gaming room will utilise the beer garden’s existing roof structure.Credit: Cameron Atfield
But despite the new look, O’Brien said he was determined the venue would not lose sight of its roots.
“It’s the type of beer garden where you go into and you can see labourers in there – guys with tatts on their neck – alongside solicitors, lawyers and accountants,” he said.
“It’s a place where everyone in Brisbane feels comfortable going and having a beer in the beer garden and we’re very conscious of its importance.”
The famous pub almost closed its doors for good in 2023, after the Woolworths-owned Australian Hospitality and Liquor Group did not renew its lease.
The temporary gaming room will eventually make way for a reimagined Victory Hotel beer garden.Credit: Precision Group
However, Precision Group found a new operator shortly afterwards, when Athena Group signed on as the new long-term lessee.
In 2008, a blaze at the pub resulted in the hospitalisation of seven patrons and the evacuation of hundreds more.
“It’s a landmark site, and it needs a fair bit of love,” O’Brien said.
“And when I say ‘love’, it needs a lot of capital and you need to do it in a way that’s sensitive to its heritage, context and construct.
“It’s challenging, to be quite frank with you, but we’re really, really, really excited about what it’s going to look like.”
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