One of Fortitude Valley’s best known restaurant buildings is set to reopen. Competitive socialising operator Ballers Clubhouse is spending $5 million to turn the former King of Kings yum cha restaurant on Wickham Street, at the gateway to Chinatown, into a 600-capacity games and hospitality venue, opening on 1 February 2027.
King of Kings traded for more than 30 years before closing during the pandemic, and the building has been empty since. The Brisbane venue will be the largest in the group’s history and is expected to employ up to 100 staff. It is part of an $8 million investment that also includes a $3 million venue in Geelong, taking Ballers to five venues across four states after opening in Melbourne’s CBD in 2020 and expanding to Carlton and Adelaide.
Some buildings you renovate. This one you resurrect. King of Kings fed this city for three decades and then sat dark. The Valley has always reinvented itself, and we’d much rather be the next chapter of a building people already know than another box on a strip.
Joshua Lefers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ballers Clubhouse
Brisbane City Council approved a hotel use and internal fit-out for the 1,083 square metre site at 173 to 179 Wickham Street in November 2023, following an application by Ballers Fortitude Valley prepared by Plan A Town Planning. Part of the site is the locally heritage-listed Walton’s Chambers, a two storey painted brick building designed by Brisbane architects Hall and Dods and built in 1915 for furniture retailer William Walton, whose earlier store next door became the Melba Continuous Picture Theatre in 1913. The approved works are internal, with the building’s heritage elements retained.
Designed by Space Cubed, the venue spreads the brand’s games across two levels: Neo Shuffleboard with 360 degree camera tracking and automated scoring, camera-tracked Ultra Darts, pool, ping pong and Ball Pit Karaoke, all run on Good Times Tech, the founders’ own games technology business, which is now distributed globally by Sega Amusements. A private penthouse level upstairs is set aside for corporate takeovers and events, with gamified cocktails and the Posh Nosh kitchen on the food and drink side.
Brisbane will also be the first Ballers venue with a dedicated sports bar. The group says its research found sport is central to how Queenslanders go out all year, so the venue will have two large LED screen walls for State of Origin, the NRL and AFL seasons, the Ashes and, eventually, the 2032 Games.
We’d rather be the venue that’s already been trading for five years by the time the world turns up. Brisbane is becoming a genuine global destination, and we want to have helped build that, not just attend it.
Stephen Wools, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Ballers Clubhouse
Ballers says it has generated more than $50 million in group revenue since launch, with 70 per cent now coming from pre-booked functions and online reservations, much of it corporate team building and group celebrations. Lowry Group, which delivered Messina Gelato’s national expansion, will deliver the Brisbane fit-out and the group’s future sites, with Sydney and Perth being assessed.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Address | 173 to 179 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 (the former King of Kings building) |
| Application Number | A006305858 |
| Development Type | Material change of use for a hotel (licensed venue) and internal fit-out, partly within a local heritage place |
| Approval | Approved by Brisbane City Council in November 2023 (code assessment) |
| Site Area | 1,083 m² |
| Heritage | Part of the site is the locally listed Walton’s Chambers (1915, Hall and Dods); heritage elements retained |
| Investment | $5 million |
| Capacity | 600 guests; up to 100 staff |
| Opening | 1 February 2027 |
| Layout | Two levels of games and bars plus a private penthouse level for corporate events |
| Games | Neo Shuffleboard, Ultra Darts, pool, ping pong and Ball Pit Karaoke, powered by Good Times Tech |
| Food and Drink | Gamified cocktails and the Posh Nosh kitchen; dedicated sports bar with two LED screen walls |
| Operator | Ballers Clubhouse (Ballers Fortitude Valley Pty Ltd) |
| Interior Design | Space Cubed |
| Fit-out | Lowry Group |
| Town Planner | Plan A Town Planning |
Ballers Clubhouse is an Australian competitive socialising brand founded by Joshua Lefers and Stephen Wools, combining hospitality with original games and its own technology.
It opened its first venue in Melbourne’s CBD in 2020 and now operates in Melbourne CBD, Carlton and Adelaide, with Brisbane and Geelong to follow. Its games technology business, Good Times Tech, supplies operators including Boxpark, Roxy Leisure and Funbox through Sega Amusements.
Renders supplied by Ballers Clubhouse; artist impressions only and subject to change.
