Chris Denman and Stevie Waite are the duo who, having sold their previous bars Fourth Wall and The Manhattan Line, have got a new Brisbane bar, Tomcat, on the way.
“Our newest venture is Tomcat, a 530m2 duel concept venue hidden away upstairs in the heart of the Fortitude Valley,” Denman told Australian Bartender.
“Our main larger bar is Tomcat, think house party meets dive bar with a touch of 80’s swag thrown in (influenced by Kerbside, Frankie’s and Heartbreaker). The venue will be laden with street grafitti, dim red lighting, DJ’s swinging tunes until late and we’ll be punching out classic New York inspired pizzas from open until close (including takeaway) alongside a sexy range of craft beers, ciders, wines and spirits and featuring two cocktails on tap,” he said.
It’s here where they want to challenge traditional notions of bottle service, he said where they’ll be “providing a bottle service game that extends well beyond just pushing vodka as a special occasion service, to rolling out gin, rum, scotch, etc. We really want to change the perception of Bottle service and make it more approachable.”
Not content with just that, they’ve also got their own bar within a bar: The Boiler Room, which promised to be a high-end spirits and cocktail bar (you’ll have to find the nondescript entrance, however).
“The venue is being designed with the influences of 1940’s underground Sub Stations with low lighting, jazz trip-hop style music and leather lounges. The Boiler Room will be focusing on the finer products that we have available to us here in Australia and sourcing some more of the rarer products abroad,” Denman said.
It’s a big undertaking for the duo (and their largest bar to date) so with that in mind they’ve got some stellar staff on board.
“We are lucky enough to have Kal Moore (ex-The Gresham) coming on board as our venue manager,” said Denman, and “Scott Griffin (ex-X&Y) as Assistant Venue Manager and an amazing group of Brisbane bartenders giving us a banging team.”
Expect Tomcat to open in late-September.