Craft House
Southern locals, get set – the laid-back southern hub of Tugun is gearing up to welcome a new bar and eatery called Craft House, due to open in early August. Currumbin-based cousins Chris and Gareth Sharples purchased the prominent Golden Four Drive site about 12 months ago, amalgamating two tenancies (the discount store and computer shop) to create the Craft House premises. The beachside venue will focus heavily on showcasing craft beer, with 20 taps featuring a selection of smaller Australian craft brewers to rotate monthly. The significant beer offering will be accompanied by a menu of share-style dishes and refined snacks, with former Coogee Bay Hotel chef Mark Lloyd heading the kitchen. We’re told to expect a cellar list of mainly organic, minimal-intervention and biodynamic wines, alongside a fun and sophisticated series of cocktails. Craft House is due to open on August 10 – keep your eyes on The Weekend Edition for all of the details.

The LeanChef Kitchn
The prominent corner site at the top of Thomas Drive in Chevron Island, which used to house Lime Cafe, is currently undergoing major works to create a new daytime eatery called The LeanChef Kitchn. The cafe is coming to life at the hands of Melbourne restaurateur and chef Enzo Loterzo, and will serve coffee, breakfast and lunch daily. As you might gather by the name, The LeanChef’s menu will cater for health-conscious diners with plenty of gluten-free, organic and vegan options, but with a slight Italian-style twist. Think sweet-corn fitters with grilled miso and maple pumpkin, vegan paninos, gluten-free linguine with blue swimmer crab, vibrant salads, healthy burgers and more. The LeanChef Kitchn is expected to open by late August – we’ll keep you posted.

Sparrow Eating House
After delighting Gold Coast diners for more than three years, Sparrow Eating House in Nobby Beach has closed its doors. Owner Andrew Whiting opted not to renew Sparrow’s lease, choosing to focus on his daytime powerhouse Elk Espresso in Broadbeach, which recently relocated to The Oasis. While the chapter has closed on Sparrow, Andrew tells us that he’ll be launching a series of pop-up dinners and foodie events at Elk over the coming months – who knows … maybe Sparrow’s life-changing Oreo brulee will make an appearance. Watch this space, pals. We’ll reveal all of the details about Elk’s pop-ups very soon!