The Ghanem Group – run by brothers Nehme and Adonis Ghanem – was founded in 2006 with Byblos Brisbane. Nineteen years on, the group shows no sign of slowing down. Earlier this month the brothers announced one of their most ambitious projects yet: the revitalisation of The Fox Hotel in Fish Lane.

“We’ve looked at Fish Lane a number of times in the past and every time we did, we couldn’t take our eyes off the Fox Hotel,” Ghanem Group director Adonis Ghanem tells Broadsheet. “Fish Lane is most impressive with The Fox Hotel operating.”

The hotel has a long (and occasionally shady) history. It opened in 1927 under the name Hotel Terminus before being reborn in 1988 as a topless bar called The Sly Fox which later became The Fox, a pub, in 2006. The heritage-listed pub was damaged during the 2022 floods and has remained closed ever since.

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With the help of Southport-based design firm Space Cubed Design Studio, the pub will be redesigned to conserve heritage features and embrace its art deco charm. The heritage facade will remain untouched, but the entrance will move onto Fish Lane itself.

The brothers have an ambitious vision of the pub, giving each of the four floors its own identity. The ground floor will have a public bar and dining room, as well as an attached bottle shop. The first floor will feature two dedicated function spaces. The second floor will house a swish late-night cocktail lounge. The top floor will be a rooftop terrace with views out across the area.

When it opens in late-2025, Adonis pictures punters moving between each floor. “Guests can move between floors and explore everything that’s on offer,” he says. “We envision guests will spend long afternoons and late nights adventuring from space to space. Once they arrive, there is really no reason to leave – everything is under one roof. They can roam for hours, having fun in every location, eventually finding a bar, or a nook where they can settle late into the night.”

The food and beverage programs are still in development but, Adonis says, “They will be approachable and diverse across multiple levels, and exclusive to each space [with] different cuisines from [the] ground floor to rooftop.”

The Fox Hotel, 71/73 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane, will reopen in late 2025.

@_ghanemgroup