2024 is about to knock on our door and we can’t help but look back on 2023 with glee. From a bustling late-night party to a giant communal feast and new residents arriving in style, it’s been one wild ride. Read all about our year in review below.

Growing, growing, grown  

Our ever-growing street did just that with seven new residents calling our place theirs too.

1. MCM House moved into their first ever Queensland home on Wandoo St
2. The Nixon Room brought snacks, swigs and NYC-style digs
3. Carmen added spice and all things nice underneath Sage Hotel
4. Le Labo has made our street smell and look fresh
5. James & Antler arrived with an instant cult following. Coffee’s up!
6. Camerich came and conquered with their customisable furniture
7. Mud’s minimalist pastel porcelain pieces made heads turn in Gerard’s Lane

Keep your eyes peeled for ēmmē and Fatcow, two new food venues set to open in 2024.

Starry night, James St delight

James St Up Late (JSUL) was the one night of the year where our entire district stayed up past 5pm – usually, it’s just The Calile, Sage Hotel and our restaurants open at dark. Our residents hosted in-store celebrations with special guests, shopping offers, and we made it an all-out street-wide party with bright lights, fun filled activities and goodie bags to go home with. The facts:

• Over 6,000 attendees attended that party
• 1,000 Party Bags were swung over the shoulders of shoppers
• 100 Party Posies provided a reminder of JSUL for the days that followed
• Over $12,000 worth of James St prizes were spun and won
• One poolside DJ provided three hours of sounds and sights projected onto The Calile
• One streetstyle photoshoot with Fashion Photographer Liz Sunshine reminded us and you, just how cool our community is

Save the date, JSUL will be back in a big way on Thursday 14 March 2024.

Wining, dining and celebrating our good stock

James St Food + Wine Trail (JSFWT) spanned four days and resulted in one mighty fine food time. The appetites of food fans were well and truly catered for in-venue with Trail Day tastings and one-off events, while Market Day provided the gourmet stalls and street-wide picnic. Market Day moments:

• Over 25,000 eaters visited our street
• 400 square metres of our street created one giant communal feast
• 34 market stalls serving 63 different eats and 65 sips were devoured
• Five live music stages resulted in multiple spontaneous dance parties
• One kids camp provided hours of entertainment for our James St junior chefs
• One James St Resident Recipes book featured 22 recipes from our James St restaurants, cafés and bars

More good news

Other news for the 2023 year book:

• Maryon’s celebrated a huge birthday milestone… 50 years!
• Samantha Ogilvie had a stunning new renovation (sometimes bigger is better)
• Venroy had a fresh new renovation to celebrate their fifth birthday
• Project. was re-vamped – visually and metaphorically with new brands arriving in-store
• Gerard’s had a huge facelift (a bulldozer was involved!). The newly design space welcomes a fresh new look and chef
• The Calile was awarded the 12^th best hotel in the world according to the World’s 50 Best
• Cru Bar and SK Steak & Oyster both won multiple major awards on Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and Biànca, Essa, Cru Bar, Mosconi, sAme sAme, SK Steak & Oyster and Sushi Room landed themselves on the 2023 Glass Winner List.
• Essa, Hellenika and sAme sAme scored in the top 15 spots of Gourmet Traveller’s top Queensland restaurants
• The Calile supported local charity 3^rd Space donating $5 for every day a guest stayed during November, December and into January