Inside Hotel Terminus: Ghanem Group reopens the former Fox Hotel in Fish Lane
Hotel Terminus has officially opened in South Brisbane, with Ghanem Group transforming the old Fox Hotel into a four-level hospitality hub tailored to every kind of occasion. The heritage-listed site now encompasses a restored public bar, all-day dining room, function spaces, sultry cocktail lounge and rooftop bar, all threaded together by a striking internal atrium. More than a simple reopening, the project marks the return of one of Fish Lane’s most significant hospitality addresses.
Revitalising the old Fox Hotel was never going to be a small task. In addition to refurbishing all four floors (including repairing flood damage to the bottom levels), any operator taking on the storied South Brisbane site would have to contend with more than a century of history, dating back to when the establishment first opened as The Terminus in 1920.
But Nehme Ghanem, co-director of hospitality juggernaut Ghanem Group – the new proprietor of the pub, now reopened as Hotel Terminus – says any hesitation about whether the group could revive the old pub was soon outweighed by the feeling that it should.
“There’s a lot of pressure on whether we could do it, but we don’t shy away from these big projects,” says Nehme, who spoke to us earlier this week. “We understand how to do things at scale.”
He’s not wrong – Ghanem Group has runs on the board when it comes to managing large-scale operations. When Nehme and his brother and fellow co-director Adonis reached out to Aria Property about the possibility of revivifying the Fox Hotel (which had sat empty since 2022), they knew that the building had potential to be the linchpin for Fish Lane’s next stage of evolution.
“We were very confident, because of the historical value of the building and the IP of the Fox,” Nehme explains. “The public bar we knew, regardless of what happens, was going to trade quite well. It was just how we could activate the other three levels.”
Since announcing plans to restore and reopen the Fox Hotel in March 2025, Ghanem Group has been hard at work bringing the building back to optimal operating conditions. Working with Brisbane City Council and Space Cubed Design Studio on the interior redesign and fit-out effort, the team honed in on an approach that amplified the building’s history, opting to spotlight existing heritage with contemporary accents.
“This is the only pub built in Queensland during the 1920s, during the Great Depression – so it’s one of the only pubs that has that Art Deco feel to it,” says Nehme. “Over the years, things have been painted over and plastered over and changed. When you pull back some of the walls and certain finishes, you see the original concept and you go, ‘Wow, that’s beautiful.’
“Why would you want to hide that? Let’s restore it and let’s amplify it.”
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Ghanem Group has installed a brand-new collection of dining and drinking experiences over Hotel Terminus’ four levels. On the ground floor sits the restored public long bar – a chic street-facing space that acts as the introductory element to the building. Here, the team has leaned into the glamour of the existing interiors, contouring heritage aspects with patterned upholstery.
“A lot of the Art Deco style in public bar is all original,” says Nehme. “We haven’t really done much to change the style and the feel and look of it.”
Attached to the bar is Hotel Terminus’ all-day gastropub, which is overseen by head chef Lyndon Tyers (formerly of Donna Chang). Alongside executive chef Jake Nicolson, the kitchen crew has crafted a menu that is generous and uncomplicated, but not without some culinary flair – think pub grub, but elevated.
Guests can dine on classic steak tartare, Scotch eggs with black pudding and crispy potato scallops with sour cream and chives, before getting to grips with burgers (boasting Scenic Rim Native Angus beef), succulent steaks, crispy chicken schnitzels, smoky beef and maple sausages, hand-rolled gnocchi, and tandoori chicken pies.
“We want to have an elevated menu, but we need it to be approachable and very, very family friendly as well,” Nehme explains. “You have your chicken parma, you have your steaks and you have your burgers, but they’re done well and they’re done with a little bit more refinement than you would find at a normal pub.”
As for drinks, Ghanem Group’s bar and beverage manager, William Beverley, has devised a cocktail list with an Australiana theme, with sips like the Big Banana (Bourbon, Brookie’s Mac, banana and lemon) and the Hills Hoist Spritz (Saison White Flowers, St. Germain, peach and prosecco) available alongside a sturdy wine menu and beer selection.
One of the newest additions to the building is a new entry from Fish Lane, which delivers wanderers into the heart of the venue – a soaring internal atrium. From here, you can turn into the public bar, make for the gaming lounge and bottle shop, or continue upward.
“It just has this wow factor – you walk in and you see this beautiful 30-metre-high ceiling with the restored natural brick and it just looks amazing,” says Nehme. “It’s like a lobby where you can choose your adventure.
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Take the stairs or elevator upward and the true extent of the Hotel Terminus transformation will be revealed. On the second floor sit three function spaces, each named after the original owner, architect and builder of the venue – the 100-seater Addison Room, the 50-seat Hayes Room and the 14-seat private-dining area, the Carrick Room.
Continue up another floor and you’ll find the Vixen Room, Hotel Terminus’ late-night cocktail lounge. An opulent space draped in velvet and dark-red hues, the Vixen Room is described as a seductive hideaway built for lingering. Boasting its own share-style snack menu, selection of signature cocktails and roster of DJs and live-music performances, the bar is a self-contained venue – one you can spend an entire night in.
“Vixen is something that we had a great opportunity to work with Brisbane City Council on, allowing us to open up a bit of space,” says Nehme, who reveals that half of it is historical and has been left untouched.
“They allowed us to open up this area with the Vixen Room to create this really cool, moody lounge bar – we were able to be a bit more creative with the finishes and the style of materials that we wanted to use.”
The final piece of the Hotel Terminus puzzle is Fox Rooftop – the top-floor bar that will be familiar to many as a place where many hazy memories were made. Here, Ghanem Group is paying homage to the Fox Hotel’s days as a party mainstay, pairing skyline views with more snacks, a refreshed drinks list and a buzzing atmosphere.
Up here, groups can snag a booth or high-top table and gobble up servings of Kentucky fried carrot, chilli-spiced school prawns, pulled-pork tacos, spanner crab udon, lobster sea dogs and chorizo queso fundido. For drinks, the cocktail list features frozen tropical margaritas and frosé alongside boozier belters.
“The food [at Fox Rooftop] is a little bit more snacky, but at the same time it’s a place where you can go on a Tuesday night and have dinner,” says Nehme.
“We don’t want you to just have to go there and order some snacks and have a couple of drinks and enjoy the view – we want you to have dinner and have lunch and enjoy what we have to offer there.”
With Fish Lane surging as one of Brisbane’s pre-eminent dining strips, the opening of Hotel Terminus feels like a void in the precinct has finally been filled. Nehme agrees.
“This has been a hole in the Fish Lane precinct for such a long time,” he says. “I think by opening Hotel Terminus, Fish Lane is now ready to be one of the best precincts in Brisbane.”
As for the future of Hotel Terminus, Nehme believes that the venue can survive another 100 years by staying true to its roots as an establishment that serves the community, first and foremost.
“We hope that we have created a venue that’s big enough and sophisticated enough to be able to cater for all,” says Nehme. “Whatever you want to have in hospitality, we have it here.
“It’s been a journey – it’s been a very big journey – but we got there and we’re very, very happy at the end.”
Hotel Terminus is now open to the public – head to The Directory for more information.
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