Putts, pints and parmies – Landers Pocket swings into action in Brisbane’s north
What started as a simple driving range has evolved into one of Brisbane’s most ambitious hospitality projects. Landers Pocket brings together craft beer, top-notch food and family-friendly fun in one sprawling, sunshine-soaked destination. The new precinct officially launches today with a brewery, distillery, gastropub and revamped golf facilities – and that’s only stage one. With much more to come next year, Landers Pocket is shaping up to be Brisbane’s next landmark.
THE VISION
Before the first punter had thwacked a single golf ball at Golf Central, James Cooper knew the 17-ha site – located out near the airport – had the potential to be much, much more.
“We were trying to create an experience that was based around golf, but in a nice environment – you know, nice gardens and striped-up green grass,” recalls James. “As [Golf Central] evolved, we noticed the hospitality and entertainment piece continue to grow more and more popular.
“We saw an opportunity here to grow off the back of the golf and introduce a lot more as an ‘active hospitality’ space – to create a destination based around hospitality that also offered activities for the whole family.”
Ten years on from Golf Central’s debut, James’ long-term vision for a multifaceted precinct with broad demographic appeal has finally been realised. Well, almost.
Today marks the launch of stage one of Landers Pocket – an ambitious food, drink and entertainment hub that encompasses Golf Central’s top-of-the-line data-driven range tees, a new mini golf course and a shiny brewery, distillery and gastropub, plus a number of private-event spaces.
Next year, Landers Pocket will expand further to include padel courts, a Kick-n-Catch play zone, a 3000-person amphitheatre equipped for live-music performances, as well as a 1000-person lawn for festivals, pop-up markets and family-friendly activations. Once complete, it will be a one-of-a-kind landmark for Brisbane, one that James – the managing director of the entire project – says Brisbane is ready for.
“We’re 10 minutes from the CBD and we’ve got some fabulous suburbs on our doorstep,” says James. “As Brisbane has evolved, as those suburbs have evolved, as the airport has evolved, it’s all started to line up nicely for us.”
“We certainly took some inspiration from places like Howard Smith Wharves and Sandstone Point. There’s nothing like this, really – and I’ve searched and searched.”
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Rather than take on the task of operating a brewery and distillery on his own, James has recruited some heavyweights to throw in on the Landers Pocket project, securing 4 Pines Brewing and Never Never Distilling Co. under Asahi Beverages as key operating partners.
“When we pitched the idea to Asahi, they could see how many people were using Golf Central, the diversity in the people that are using the venue and that we had a ready-made market here,” says James. “It would have been really easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be a brewer and a distiller, but we wanted to have the best of breed in what we do – it was a match made in heaven, really.”
“As far as we’re concerned, this is probably the biggest hospitality development going into Brisbane this decade,” adds Todd Atkinson, CEO of 4 Pines. “The opportunity to be able to build a brewery in an iconic hospitality space – where people could come together and socialise over golf and beer and mateship – was too good to be true.”
THE BREWERY
4 Pines at Landers Pocket is the name given to the brewery, distillery and gastropub, all housed inside a sprawling warehouse-style space with a capacity for 800 guests. To the left of the entry, guests will spy Never Never’s in-house still, as well as the venue’s bar, which services the interior dining room and outdoor beer garden.
Behind the bar guests can glimpse 4 Pines’ on-site brewery, overseen by seasoned brewer Matt Strong. Though smaller than your standard independent craft-brewing operation, 4 Pines will still be producing a substantial amount of sudsy goodness – most of it intended to be dispensed from the bar’s 32 draught taps.
“If all goes to plan, we’ll be serving up about a quarter of a million schooners a year to the thirsty people of Brisbane, and the majority of that will be brewed on site,” Todd reveals. “In addition to our core beers, we’re looking forward to making some bespoke brews that meet the needs of the local market.”
Two taps will be dedicated to limited-release beers – available one day, gone the next. These ephemeral elixirs are joined by 4 Pines staples like the Japanese lager, hazy pale ale, Pacific ale, American amber ale, nitro stout, draught kolsch and an ultra-low-alc option.
“I wanted to make sure we had a venue where people loved the beer, first and foremost, and that was what made 4 Pines a really logical choice,” says James.
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THE DISTILLERY
Never Never Distilling Co. joins 4 Pines as a resident of Landers Pocket. While the spirit maker is based in South Australia’s McLaren Vale, two of its founders were born and bred in Queensland, making its partnership with Landers Pocket a bit of a full-circle moment – in more ways than one, as it turns out.
“The still in the little distillery space is not too dissimilar, both in size and space, to how we started,” says co-founder Sean Baxter, with a chuckle. “It is a great little spot to be able to start producing some really incredible, locally focused products and to start expanding upon the brand in that way.”
Behind the bar, you’ll find Never Never’s esteemed range of award-winning spirits, which filter into a clutch of classic cocktails (a dry martini, dirty martini and a negroni), as well as Never Never gins paired with Strangelove mixers. There’s also a gin tasting paddle offering sips of the distillery’s Oyster Shell gin, Triple Juniper gin and the dessert-style Ginache gin. Like the brewery, expect some house-distilled limited-edition spirits to filter through over time.
“We’re going to be looking at a range of different local flavours that are really interesting and very vibrant,” explains Sean. “There’s a multitude of different indigenous ingredients that you don’t find anywhere else in the country, so we’re going to be playing around with some of those particular flavours and how they can speak to the occasion here.”
THE FOOD
4 Pines at Landers Pocket boasts a sizable on-site kitchen, which will be put to work pumping out a smorgasbord of gastropub fare. The menu tees off with starters like Mooloolaba grilled split prawns with confit garlic and tomato butter, hot-smoked salmon rillettes, fresh baked pretzels and a trio of tacos.
The menu’s fairway features chilled seafood (think Sydney rock oysters and yellowfin kingfish ceviche), mains like Moreton Bay bug and prawn pasta, Berkshire crispy-skin pork belly, chicken schnitzel, crumbed reef-fish burgers and piping hot pizzas. There’s also a selection of char-grill steaks, headlined by a 1-kg grass-fed tomahawk served with your choice of sides.
Desserts make up the putting green section of the menu, featuring triple-chocolate brownies, mango-and-coconut pavlova, and pannacotta with coconut biscotti.
THE GOLF
The development work has expanded Golf Central to double its original size, with technical upgrades to its driving range including ball tracking in every bay. Guests to Landers Pocket can nab an all-day pass, allowing them to hop on and off the mini golf course in between rounds.
While golf is core to Landers Pocket, James stresses you don’t need to be a pro to come along.
“If you don’t engage with golf, you don’t have to – we were very focused on creating a really good hospitality experience,” says James. “If you’re wanting to come and play mini golf with the kids and have a beer and a bowl of chips, you can do that. If you want to sit down for a three-course dinner, you can do that too.”
As Landers Pocket continues to evolve, James hopes that Brisbane locals and visiting interlopers will catch on to the precinct’s broad appeal, making it not just a spot for family outings but a destination for corporate celebrations, milestone birthdays and casual catch-ups.
“I think what we’ve been able to create is a multifaceted destination that ticks the box for a broad number of people – it’s a good space with a great landscape and great parking,” says James. “We can see people spending a whole afternoon here, no problems at all – and that was really the objective: getting people to come, stay for an afternoon and enjoy everything.”
4 Pines at Landers Pocket is now open to the public – head to The Directory for operating hours and booking info.