Courier Mail Article – Lease to Stockhome Syndrome

The Courier Mail featured a recent lease deal I did to Stockhome Syndrome, click to see a bigger version:

This is the text of the article:

Swedish staples set to captivate

Chris Herde

ARMED with a name designed to attract devoted followers, a Swedish cafe/restaurant and cabaret has opened its doors in Albion’s entertainment precinct.

Established by Mark Fitzsimmons and Kim Larsson, Stockholm Syndrome has secured a five-year lease at 340 Sandgate Rd, formerly occupied by long-term Italian restaurant Caio Baby.
Ex-Gold Coasters, Mr Fitzsimmon’s background is pubs and clubs and Mr Larsson, who is the Swedish component in the equation, has a long career at front of house.
‘‘I think we are the only Swedish restaurant in Brisbane . . . and our plan is to make everybody captive,’’ Mr Larsson said.
‘‘They’re going to fall in love with the restaurant and the food and never want to leave.’’
In the deal negotiated by Netrent Service’s (sic) Thor Harrison, Stockholm Syndrome will pay $100,000 a year plus outgoings for the two-level 353sq m stand-alone building which has undergone an extensive refurbishment.
While the restaurant – a fusion of Swedish and Australian food – is already open, Mr Fitzsimmons plans to establish a cabaret space upstairs, which will have a full bar, a big deck at the back, veranda in front and seating about 60 people.
‘‘I left the nightclub scene down on the Gold Coast in February and to be honest it’s a bit of a compromise,’’ he said.
‘‘I was going to go back into nightclubs and cabaret and he (Mr Larsson) wanted a little cafe, so we ended up with a mid-sized cafe/bar.
‘‘To be absolutely honest with you, coming from the Gold Coast, we didn’t even know Albion existed.
‘‘But we fell in love with the area – the people are amazing.’’
Mr Harrison said the space was only vacant for a couple of months.
‘‘About a dozen people looked at it because it sort of appealed to a lot of tastes,’’ he said. ‘‘It was apparently what these guys were looking for a long time for.’’
Mr Harrison said Albion was a tightly held precinct. ‘‘It’s a restaurant precinct and with parking being so expensive in the city and everyone being pushed out, some people are comparing it to Lygon St in Melbourne.’’