Half Moon Wine Store
It’s a good week to be an oenophile in Brisbane. Leading our cork-popping issue of Pavement Whispers this week is the news that the team behind boutique bottle shop Half Moon Wine Store will be opening a new location in Wilston this Friday September 16. With its original South Brisbane location going gangbusters as a retail resource and an e-commerce centre, the team has decided to spread its wings to a part of town in need of a discerning vino dispensary. Half Moon will be situated on Wilston’s high street of Kedron Brook Road, nestled inside a space boasting plenty of natural light – a far cry from South Brisbane’s industrial character. The fit-out process has resulted in some custom-made shelves, a tiled feature counter and some greenery. As for what’s on offer, the team won’t be straying far from its established ethos of sourcing organic and sustainable wine from independent producers that care, with a range of premium offerings available alongside a selection of well-priced everyday wines. Rest assured, Half Moon Wine Store in Wilston will showcase drops not regularly seen in the Brisbane wine and retail scene, so be sure to make time to visit on Friday to stock up ahead of the weekend.

The Old Seven
Over in Camp Hill, beloved French-inspired wine bar and fromagerie The Old Seven is shaking things up at its Old Cleveland Road headquarters. The crew has taken over its neighbouring space (previously home to a small art gallery and, before that, a hair salon) and is in the process of converting it into a plush addition called Le Salon. The move arose out of a need for more room, as The Old Seven regularly packs out with patrons during the week – especially when its cellar bar, La Cave, is booked out for functions. Once complete, the mood-lit extension will boast velvet curtains and lounges, vintage French provincial furniture, prints of abstract art and old lamps, with space for an extra 40 guests bringing The Old Seven’s total capacity to around 110. Le Salon will be serviced by The Old Seven’s bar, with its predominantly European range of small producer wines, cheese and charcuterie, cheesy jaffles and tapas-style bites on offer. The Old Seven team will lift the cloche on Le Salon on the weekend of September 24 and 25.

NIKY
Newstead-based lovers of natural wine will flip when they get a load of this bit of news. The crew behind Salt Coffee on Commercial Road will open NIKY – a vino-slinging wine bar specialising in new-wave drops – before the end of the month. Zac Lazerac and Nicole Black are the brains behind the operation, which is currently taking shape in a former garage next door to Salt’s corner caffeinery. The space will be chic and curvaceous, with a material palette headlined by textured-concrete applied across the walls and ceiling. A big chalkboard at the rear of the space will list a range of wines available by the glass, with low-intervention options like zippy pet-nats, juicy skin-contact drops and a bunch of magnums expected to feature. Chef Jianne Jeoung is overseeing NIKY’s small kitchen, from which she’ll serve fresh seafood, oysters, a rotating pasta option and a selection of small bites, with something different available every time you pop by. Keep your eyes peeled for more on NIKY closer to the end of September.

In case you missed it …

Last week saw a flurry of forthcoming venues announced across Brisbane from interstate powerhouses to homegrown hospo legends. The crew behind Melbourne’s esteemed Japanese restaurant Komeyui revealed plans for a Queensland outpost, with a new location set to open in Spring Hill before Christmas. The brainchild of chef Motomu Kumano, Komeyui has been showcasing traditional, Japanese culinary delights since opening in Port Melbourne in 2011. The Spring Hill restaurant will be located on Wharf Street, with a space inside the old Australian Federal Police building being reimagined by architecture and design firm Baenziger Coles to resemble more of a gallery than a restaurant space. Komeyui will bring its seasonal a la carte, omakase and kaiseki menus to Brisbane, white-fish-stuffed zucchini flower with tapioca pearl and ankake, wagyu tartare with soy-marinated egg yolk, and melt-in-your-mouth sashimi, sushi and bento lunch specials. Also opening soon is 70s-inspired supper club Maggie May, the newest concept from Hallmark Hospitality group (Lefty’s Music Hall, Hey Chica!). Maggie May will take over the site previously home to The Defiant Duck, and will pair a vibrant aesthetic of paisley patterns and hues of mustard, golden brown and deep teal with an offering that starts with coffee and breakfast in the morning and finishes with cocktails, wine and small and large share plates in the evening.

If you’ve heard something that’s worth mentioning in The Weekend Edition’s Pavement Whispers, email [email protected].