Miami Marketta is turning up the volume with major expansion, unveiling The Syrup Factory and La Maddalena
For more than a decade, Miami Marketta has been the kind of place you stumble into for street food and stay for the music – a grassroots institution that has quietly shaped the Gold Coast’s cultural identity. Now, the beloved precinct is entering a bold new phase, with plans to expand into a multi-venue destination anchored by two entirely new concepts – large-scale live music venue The Syrup Factory and European-inspired wedding space, La Maddalena.
The headline addition to Miami Marketta is The Syrup Factory, a purpose-built live-music venue with capacity for more than 1600 people. Designed to bridge a long-standing gap in the Gold Coast’s live-music infrastructure, the venue will cater to national and international touring acts that have historically skipped the region in favour of Brisbane. With a wrap-around mezzanine, side-of-stage VIP zones and high-end production capabilities, the space signals a shift towards bigger, more ambitious programming, without losing the raw, art-led energy that has defined Miami Marketta since day one.
The name itself nods to the site’s past. When the team first took over the industrial warehouse in 2010, one of the original tenants was producing ice-cream syrups on site – a detail that now feeds into the identity of what’s set to become one of the city’s most significant cultural venues.
Founder Emma Milikins sees the expansion as a natural evolution. “We’ve always been about creating space for people to connect through food, music and art,” she says. “This expansion gives us the chance to do that on a whole new level – and still keep the soul that makes Marketta feel like home.”
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Alongside the music venue, Miami Marketta is also stepping into the events space with La Maddalena – a dedicated wedding venue inspired by Emma’s travels through Sardinia. Designed as a transportive and immersive setting, the venue will centre around a stone courtyard for open-air ceremonies, into an indoor reception space, with Marketta’s signature art-driven aesthetic layered with subtle Italian cues. It’s a move that taps into growing demand for inner-city venues that feel considered, character-filled and a little removed from the expected.
Together, the two additions mark a significant evolution for Miami Marketta – one that builds on its reputation as a creative incubator while expanding its capacity to host everything from intimate gigs to large-scale productions and milestone celebrations. The expansion will sit alongside existing spaces like the Laneway and Studio 56, reinforcing Miami Marketta as a multi-format venue capable of adapting to just about any kind of event.
Construction is already underway, with The Syrup Factory slated to open mid-2026 and bookings set to commence from July. More details – including opening dates and inaugural programming – are expected to be announced in the coming months.
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