New dining precinct opening near Melbourne Central

An event at Worksmith’s location in Collingwood, Melbourne.
An event at Worksmith’s location in Collingwood, Melbourne.

GPT Group is opening a new dining precinct near its shopping centre, Melbourne Central, on Monday.

The precinct, known as ‘ELLA’, where Elizabeth St meet La Trobe St, is modeled on the high-end food offerings found in Asia’s train stations.

New cafes launching on Monday, May 27, include the latest offshoot of South Yarra’s hatted restaurant Atlas, Colours Bowls; deep-fried Korean chicken joint, Sam Sam; a new concept from popular Thai eatery, Son in Law; and Pick a Stick Chinese Skewers, from the team at Dainty Sichuan.

Existing restaurants that will reopen with brand-new looks on Monday include Nepalese restaurant, Chilli Everest, and Ajisen Ramen.

Food is just part of ELLA’s offering. The 2500sqm precinct also features a mural wall that local artists will keep refreshed with new street art, and a tech platform called crowdDJ that visitors and staff can use to play music.

Worksmith, a hospitality-based co-working space will also open its second location in Melbourne at ELLA, offering high-tech facilities for communal use, including an on-premise drinks lab and a space for events and pop-ups.

“We know Melburnians love food, but we’re also mad about music and art, we’re pretty innovative when it comes to technology and we enjoy continued opportunities to learn,” ELLA’s development manager, Stuart MacLeod-Smith said in a statement about the launch.

“We’re planning to tap into these elements to elevate and enhance the ELLA experience.”

Visitors will be able to use a Facebook chatbot to order and pay for food and find out about upcoming events at ELLA.

Further openings will continue later in the year, with Blackheart & Sparrows set to launch as part of phase two on June 27, and Byrdi, an upscale cocktail bar by Luke Whearty, opening its doors a few weeks after that.

The final slew of retailers is currently slated to open in early 2020.

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