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The restaurant tycoons

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The fire at Stokehouse in 2014.

The quiet Millennial who inherited Stokehouse and is preparing for its next chapter

After surviving a family split and devastating fire, Stokehouse has marked Melburnians’ special occasions for more than 35 years. Now, a new generation is taking the lead.

  • Annika Smethurst

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George Calombaris in 2024, when he appointed culinary director at Hotel Sorrento.

The recalibration of George Calombaris: A nervous chef returns to the city that left his empire in ruins

After a high-profile underpayments debacle, George Calombaris found himself in a dark spiral – but he says he came out the other side a different man. In the fifth instalment of a special series on restaurant tycoons, we lift the lid on the “new George”.

  • Dani Valent
Restaurant tycoons

Restaurant tycoons

The Age’s series on the people who make Melbourne’s restaurant scene tick.

Rebecca Yazbek pictured at Nomad restaurant, Surry Hills, Sydney.

‘Your husband’s been arrested’: After Alan sparked a national scandal, Rebecca was left to pick up the pieces

He was the restaurant baron arrested at a pro-Palestine rally. She was the partner left to save the business as hats were stripped. Now Rebecca Yazbek is taking control as one of the few female CEOs in Australian hospitality.

  • Myffy Rigby
Con Christopoulos at his venue, The European restaurant.

It took me months to interview the man behind Melbourne’s laneway culture. Few people even know his name

For 40 years, Con Christopoulos has run dozens of the city’s most recognisable venues - yet few Melburnians have heard of him. In the third instalment of an Age series profiling the city’s restaurant tycoons, we look at how he built a dining empire.

  • Clay Lucas
Fabio, left, and Yuri Angele – the brothers who run Brunetti.

Lygon Street divided: The untold story of the Brunetti brothers’ break-up

In the second instalment of an Age series investigating the city’s restaurant tycoons, we go behind the scenes of a Carlton dynasty. For the first time, the brothers behind Brunetti reveal the inside story of the split that reshaped Lygon Street.

  • Michael Bachelard
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Chris Lucas took on then-premier Daniel Andrews during COVID.

The Society man v the premier: When Daniel Andrews tipped Chris Lucas over the edge

He is the Geelong boy who built a Toorak palace on grit and gourmet burgers. But when lockdowns silenced the city, Chris Lucas found his voice, trading the dining room for the war room to challenge a premier.

  • Cassandra Morgan