Coming Soon: A NYC-Style Deli to Open in Woolloongabba from the Clarence Team

Clarence Corner has come a long way over the past five years. The precinct on the corner of Stanley Street and Annerley Road in Woolloongabba has seen the recent additions of The Princess Theatre, Clarence Restaurant, and Echo and Bounce, joining stalwarts C’est Bon, Brisbane Brewing Co and live music bar, Can You Keep A Secret.

With so many venues in a small area, you might start to wonder if the bubble will someday burst. But Clarence co-owner, Ben McShane, is doubling down by opening Corner Deli – a quaint NYC-style spot – next-door to his restaurant in late April.

“We’ve had this dusty old space next to us for a long time and we’ve thought about different ways to utilise it,” McShane tells Broadsheet. “With the [Mater] hospital [nearby] and thousands of people working there, there’s a real opportunity to serve a really good lunch offering.”

McShane has brought in chef Matt Kuhnemann, who had been head chef at the recently closed Park Bench Deli in Singapore, after the pair worked together on the London restaurant scene. They’ve developed a menu that will include a few hearty soups, a rotating pasta dish and 10 sandwiches (five hot and five cold). Think minestrone soup, a cauliflower and cheese jaffle, a fried chicken and pickle sandwich and a Reuben made with wild-shot venison pastrami. Cold cuts will be sourced from Saison Small Goods, while McShane is still debating if bread will be baked in-house.

“It’s a balancing act … we need to be at a price-point that makes it an every-week food offering,” he says. “We’re not trying to make the most flash sandwiches in the city; it’s more about serving the people that will be [in the area] Monday to Friday.”

To drink there will be coffee from Bancroft Roasters, Strangelove sodas, a few local beers, and a neat natural wine selection that will be available by the tumbler. Expect to see locally sourced Australian producers like Dormilona, Future Perfect and Jilly.

Around 10 seats will be available inside and another 15 outside. McShane says they plan to remove a section of a wall to connect Clarence to the Corner Deli and use the deli space as an extra kitchen for Clarence at night. Besides that, the heritage-listed space will remain the same.

“There’s an intrinsic character to [Clarence Corner],” McShane says. “The structure of the buildings hasn’t changed over the past 100 years and I rather like that.”

Corner Deli will open at 615 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba in late-April.