Ace drinking at Heritage Exchange Townsville

Story by Amy Spanton

Townsville. Hot Weather. The North Queensland Cowboys. Sugarcane. Ross River. Great cocktails. Huh? Head scratch. Yep, it’s fair to say that Townsville is not a town we often associate with awesome bars. Hipster beards and drinks in jam jars are not de rigeur that far up north. But Emmanuel Bogiatzis has been trying to change the reputation of this tropical town since he opened Heritage Bar in 1994. Now, Heritage Bar (also on Flinders Street) is “The Old Favourite” and is not to be confused with the new kid on the block, Heritage Exchange, which opened in April this year.
Bogiatzis is the owner and operator of both bars. And if you’ve been at the Bar Awards during the past couple of years you might have noticed a big contingent of North Queenslanders, cheering loudly when Heritage Bar won the inaugural Regional Bar of the Year award in 2013. Heritage Bar has given Townsville a voice on the national bar scene, and Emmanuel is proud that it’s “often compared with establishments in Sydney and Melbourne.”

So, following on from the success Heritage Bar, Bogiatzis opened The Heritage Exchange, which is three bars in one venue – Whiskey Bar, Rum Garden and Public Bar – over 900sqm. The new hotel is in the site of the old Exchange Hotel (circa 1881). Bogiatzis says he wanted to bring it back to its previous glory. “We did this by exposing as much of the original red brickwork as possible and carefully selecting furnishings to reflect the era, adding a lot of collectable vintage décor,” he said.

So, if you’re in Townsville and you want a one-stop shop for a night out, this is your place. “Our mission was to create an all-encompassing entertainment precinct,” says Bogiatzis, “to create a nightclub/bar environment that satisfies the ever-changing tastes and expectations of our core customers. We want to make going out more affordable and enjoyable to a wider demographic by offering a variety of choices and experiences within the one venue.”

A Bit o’ Background
The original building (The Exchange Hotel) in Flinders St East was built in 1869, with Rose O’Neil taking over the license of the hotel in 1873, doubling the size of the venue, and improving the reputation of the hotel. In 1881, the building was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt from brick.

The current owners, Greg Rains and Michael O’Keefe, purchased the Exchange in 2008 and extensively renovated in 2009. Since 2011, the Exchange has been occupied by A Gentlemen’s Club. Facing some difficult economic conditions, the operators decided to confine their operations to the top floor of the venue. As a result, they split the tenancy of the making the ground floor available. Bogiatzis saw an opportunity and snapped it up.

From there, he went headlong into 6 months of planning, 12 months of collecting design pieces and décor and 5 months for the fitout.

“We worked with the existing structural design of the venue, which had been completed by the owners of the building 5 years ago,” says Bogiatzis, who enlisted the help of Clare Powell to complete the venue’s interior design, layout and furnishings.  

What to order…
The Whiskey Bar has an impressive whisk(e)y selection with over 70 varieties from all over the world. And what’s also impressive is the price point. There are loads of whiskies on offer for around $10 a nip. And they offer location-themed flights too; like the Land of the Rising Sun – three shots of Nikka, Yamazaki and Hibiki for just $31. And it’s not just whisk(e)y they’re hocking. “In the Rum Garden, we offer over 50 international Rums as well as the option to select any rum for classic rum cocktails,” says Bogiatzis.

On the cocktail front, they have opted for a genuinely functional list that includes hits from Heritage Bar over the years, classics from other bars and bonafide classics (called Olds Skool) which includes the Old Fashioned, the Zombie and the Aviation, among others.

And if you get hungry (which is probably a given after all that Japanese Whiskey and classic cocktails) you might want to try out the bar snacks. The Tapas style food, served till late features delights such as Moroccan Mint lamb cutlets, Coconut Prawns or a trio of sliders.

The Team
We’ve already introduced him but Emmanuel Bogiatzis is the man behind the Heritage name. For 21 years he has run the original Heritage Bar, constantly adapting to current trends. Going from a restaurant to a wine bar in the late 90s to a cocktail bar in the noughties. “Heritage Bar constantly evolves with current trends by upgrading its fit-out every five years and updating the drinks list and food menu,” says Bogiatzis. And it seems like a good plan. How many bars do you know that are still killing it after two decades?

Joining him as part of the Heritage crew are the aforementioned designer, Clare Powell, who is also the venue Photographer and who’s pretty snaps you are looking at on these pages. Beau Price is the venue manager; he started with bartending eight years ago and has been a key fixture of the Heritage brand for the last five years. And last but certainly not least is Josh Agostino, who is Heritage Exchange cocktail guru and has been with the company for over ten years.