A favourite pre-game watering hole for Brisbane sports lovers is set to remain closed during the NRL finals as it undergoes a major facelift.
The Iceworks Bar and Restaurant, often packed before and after Suncorp Stadium events, shut last month and is expected to reopen in late October.
The icy theme will be no more, and the venue will be re-named "The Darling" under the new management of a consortium of private investors and the owners of South Brisbane's Fox Hotel.
For a venue synonymous with Queensland sports fans, some may be surprised the new management are pitching it as a Melbourne or Sydney-style venue.
"Anyone who frequents haunts in Sydney and Melbourne will feel more than at home in this diverse, stylish and well thought out venue that will offer its patrons a simple but ever-changing beverage, brunch, lunch and dinner option 7 days a week," they said in a statement.
"The split level fusion of sustainable dining options, bar snacks, good music and great atmosphere is a much needed shake up to the Paddington scene.
"The venue will be sure to lend itself to a long Saturday lunch with the ladies, with a mix of set tables, booths and communal dining."
The overhaul will be headed up by Jacqueline Madden, who oversaw the re-launch of the Fox Hotel in late 2013.
The site, on the corner of Dowse Street and Given Terrace in Paddington, originally opened as the Ithaca Ice Works in 1926.
The ice-making and refrigeration business remained until 1996, when it shifted east to Hemmant.
The factory was abandoned until it was knocked over and replaced by an entertainment precinct and apartments in 2008.
