Overview
When you head to a bar, you aren't just there for drinks and company. The vibe couldn't be more important, and nor could getting the sense that you'd love to enjoy a similar feeling at home. We all window-shop when we're getting a few beverages — wondering if our own cocktails would taste better out of the same glasses, if our lounge room would be more relaxing with the same couches and if our dining room would be moodier with the same lighting, for instance. At Pawn & Co, you can turn that pondering into a reality.
As Melburnians are no stranger to, but Brisbanites will discover on home turf in Fortitude Valley from late-August 2024, this bar makes good on being a pawn shop as well as a watering hole. Everything here is for sale. The furniture? For sale. The trinkets around the place? For sale. Obviously the drinks are for sale, too, but you won't be able to take them with you.
The old Laruche digs on Ann Street will welcome Pawn & Co for its first foray outside of Victoria, with the 500-square-metre Bakery Lane space undergoing a $4-million refurbishment. As well as a bar selling everything in sight, the venue will be a perfumery, too. Yes, the scents are for sale also — and you can even create your own signature scent at masterclasses with perfumers.
How do you deck out a place that slings drinks, aromas and all that falls within its walls? Co-founders Josh Lefers and Stephen Wools, plus their collaborators Steve Thomas and Alex Docherty — who also boast Ballers Clubhouse in Melbourne and Adelaide, and Melbourne's StoryVille and 29th Apartment, on their combined resumes — are going luxe. Pawn & Co Brisbane will feature an art deco-inspired piano bar among its many other inclusions, apparently with a twist. And the atmosphere? Elegant, lavish and piquing patrons' curiosity, befitting somewhere where martinis and Rolexes sit side by side on the menu.
"It's about creating a space where every visit is an adventure, and every drink, curiosity and perfume tells a story," said Lefers.
"By integrating a perfumery into our cocktail experience, we're bringing the worlds of retail and hospitality together in a way that's never been done before."
"We had been looking in Fortitude Valley because we all felt like it was the new best late-night precinct. You can feel the energy post-pandemic growing to new strengths — and with the Olympics driving further growth, it looks to be the preeminent spot in Australia," added Docherty.
"Those who are familiar with the venues predecessors, Laruche and Beehive, will be pleased to know that we have kept key elements of the prior iconic venues, such as the recognisable vaulted beehive ceiling and the iconic back bar design to pay homage to good nights passed," said Thomas.
Find Pawn & Co at 680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley from the end of August — we'll update you with an exact opening date when one is announced. Head to the venue's website for more details in the interim.