Overview
Less than a year after opening, two high-profile eateries in Petrie Terrace's Barracks complex have closed their doors. Both coal-fire restaurant Burnt Ends Kitchen & Bar and Tuscan-style joint Nativo Kitchen & Wine Bar were run by the TJ Peabody-owned NKB Group, and follow similar closures amongst its other ventures.
As reported by The Courier-Mail, staff and suppliers at both venues were informed via email that neither would continue trading this year. A statement on the group's website advises, "it is with a heavy heart that NKB Group has announced that Burnt Ends Kitchen & Bar, Nativo Kitchen & Wine Bar and Nantucket Catering will not reopen in 2018."
Nickel Kitchen & Bar, NKB's Fortitude Valley restaurant, shut up shop in late 2017 and is currently looking for new owners. Meanwhile, NKB Express at Indooroopilly is up for sale but will remain open during the process, after its fellow Indro venue Nantucket Kitchen and Bar closed last May.
With the fate of a number of Damian Griffiths'-owned sites in Fortitude Valley — Alfred & Constance, Kwan Brothers and Alf's Place — also up in the air, 2018 hasn't started well for the city's hospitality scene.