“My goal is to relocate to Brisbane,” Shane Delia tells Broadsheet. “I’ve been a prominent, passionate Melbournian for a long time, but Melbourne is a different place after our lockdown … I want to explore what Queensland has to offer.”

Delia is best known for his Middle Eastern restaurant Maha and its sibling venues Maha North and Maha East as well as hosting SBS shows Spice Journey and Middle East Feast. He was the co-founder of meal delivery service Providoor, a massive lockdown-era hit, which went into liquidation in April 2023 and reopened without Delia’s involvement in October that same year.

When it comes to his Brisbane opening, Delia is tight-lipped. We don’t know the name of the restaurant or what sort of dishes will be on the menu – or even which local talent might join the team. We do know it’s tipped to open in early 2025 and that it’ll be located within the Thomas Dixon Centre.

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“Obviously, there’s a great arts vibe and a great arts community, but we want people to come [to the Thomas Dixon Centre] for more than that,” says Delia. “We want people to come for an experience that’s beyond what they’re seeing on the stage. Our brands will be overlaid throughout all of the food and beverage outlets in Thomas Dixon, but our signature restaurant downstairs will be a destination on its own.”

We also know the food will be spicy and tailored to the tastes of a Queensland audience.

“We’re encompassing spice-driven flavours from across the world, but predominantly the Middle East,” says Delia. “It won’t be Maha; it’ll be a new brand, bespoke for Brisbane. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on for a while, but I don’t think Melbourne was the climate for it.”

Delia’s keen to try something bit different outside the Melbourne scene. “I think people have a certain expectation of what a Shane Delia restaurant looks like in Melbourne, and I think that in Brisbane, people are just excited to try something new. There’s a willingness to let us explore and stretch our legs a bit, rather than just playing from the old playbook.”

While he can’t share much about the specifics of his new venue, Delia isn’t shy about declaring his love of all things Queensland.

“I will be there as much as humanly possible,” he says. “Everyone’s been so welcoming to me, you know, like even just spending the last few months, going back and forward and exploring … Brisbane reminds me of what Australia used to be and what I loved about Australia. I feel at home, I feel accepted, and I feel at peace there, and that’s something that everybody’s looking for in their life.”

Delia’s new restaurant is expected to open in early-2025 at the Thomas Dixon Centre.