Convenience store franchise NightOwl will this week make an inner-Brisbane, heritage-listed property over 130-years-old its new home.
The group is moving its franchise support office from Springwood in Brisbane’s south to a landmark two-storey building formally known as ‘Carroll House’ at 184 Main Street in Kangaroo Point, opposite the Story Bridge Hotel.
Built in 1878, the building operated as a general store, a butcher and grocer until 1930. Over time the masonry building was converted into offices, with a real estate agency the most recent tenant.
NightOwl franchisor Adam Adams said the group would eventually operate a 200sqm convenience outlet on the lower level of the building, which would now be known as ‘Parliament House’, after the collective noun for owls.
‘NightOwl is proud to have preserved a piece of Brisbane history which will soon repeat itself, with the shop going back to its original use of a general store,’ Mr Adams said.
‘We were drawn to the heritage aspect of this unique building as well as its prime inner-city location.
‘Parliament House is an ideal base for our national support office given its easy access to the CBD and proximity to the famous Story Bridge Hotel. The suburb’s growing residential population also makes it a fitting location for a NightOwl convenience store.’
Mr Adams said the purchase of the building mid-last year was part of a move by NightOwl to own its own buildings.
The 480sqm NightOwl office will house about 20 staff and will also be used as a franchisee training base for the group.
The company-owned convenience store, when opened, will follow NightOwl’s new ‘store of the future’ model which features innovations such as a ‘fun wall’ offering gelato and confectionary, a café and an expanded product range.
The outlet will be the 66th for NightOwl, which operates in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
The building was heritage-listed by Brisbane City Council in 1997 as a rare example of the terraced corner shops/residences that once existed in Kangaroo Point.
In 1874 James Darragh, owner of the-then Kangaroo Point Hotel (now the Story Bridge Hotel), acquired the land opposite the watering hole. A building consisting of three shops and upstairs residences was built for Darragh with the same bricks used for the pub.
Over the years the building went through a number of owners and renovations and was at one time called the Kangaroo Point Café. One owner, Tom Carroll, named it Carroll House in the 1980s.
The building’s main features are the characteristic main façade, posts supporting awnings over the footpaths, upper level verandah and pitched roof.
A property may be placed on the Queensland heritage register if it satisfies criteria such as being important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.