The owners of St Kilda’s most well-known restaurant, a fixture of the beachfront for 36 years, have sold it to perhaps Melbourne’s most well-known restaurateur, chef Andrew McConnell and his wife Jo McGann. The Van Haandel family – Frank, Sharon and son Hugh – announced the news in a statement today.

McConnell and McGann are in the midst of opening Cote Basque, their first restaurant since 2020’s smash hit Gimlet, both in the CBD. They will take possession of Stokehouse in October.

More to come.