As Brisbane’s summer bursts onto the scene, the Range Brewing team have thrown open the doors of another suburban bar: Rays by Range in Camp Hill.
They've taken over the space previously occupied by Ze Pickle before the burger bar closed in March, creating something wildly different to what was there before. The crew has transformed the dimly lit, moody cave into a corner bar built on vibrant colours and sunshine (go figure – it’s in the name).
After opening their first neighbourhood bar, Patio by Range, in leafy Paddington in mid-2023, Range founders Matt McIver and Gerard Martin have captured a similar energy for this venture on the border of Camp Hill and Coorparoo.
“These neighbourhoods share that same warmth and charm as Paddington, and we’re excited to bring our take on a local watering hole to this part of town,” Matt said in a release announcing the opening. “We’ve taken the best parts of what people love about Patio and brought them to Camp Hill.”
Some of the elements that have been brought across include concertina windows that welcome sunlight and tables topped with glossy tiles, this time a deep cobalt blue. There’s also continuity in the food menu in the form of a few Euro-inspired small plates and a handful of the pizzas for which Range is known; Sunshine XPA-braised beef as a pizza topping, anyone?
But Rays is no carbon copy. On the food side, a fancy chicken schnitty and fish sando round out a tight menu. And the aesthetic does have its own personality: the booths shine with custom-built yellow tables that pick up the limoncello-coloured bar top, the tinted transparent signage is reminiscent of sunglasses, and the disco ball and backlit backbar give a stronger party vibe than Patio’s laid-back atmosphere.
"We wanted Rays to feel familiar yet fresh,” Matt says, “like a bar that’s been here forever, but with something new to discover every time you visit.”
Sleek design has always been at the core of the Range brand, but this time the team offered a behind-the-curtains peek into the process of bringing that design to fruition. They documented the build on social media with ten videos shot over seven weeks showing the transformation: from the original space in need of love, to the boring but practical acoustic tiles, through Matt and Gerard building the spotted gum booth seating by hand and “the tile saga”, to the marketing team photographing the menu items in the finished venue.
These videos represent savvy marketing by the strategic Range team, giving punters a sense of inclusion and ownership even before the venue opened. But this approach also shows that hospitality venues across the board can be something more than just a place to buy a drink; they can offer a sense of belonging.
“Rays is a place you can call your own,” Gerard says. "In our fast-paced world, these third spaces are more important than ever. Rays is our way of helping bring that sense of connection back to the community.”
With this completion of a golden triangle of locations in Brisbane – Camp Hill, Paddington and Newstead – Range have shown that the closing of their taproom in Melbourne’s Abbotsford earlier this year was far from a beginning-of-the-end for the brand. At a time when hospitality is struggling across the board, there’s something calming about seeing experienced venue owners unafraid to open good beer venues in the suburbs,* a kind of reassurance that hospo isn’t dead.
Who knows, perhaps Range have an eye on Yeerongpilly so they can create a golden square...
Rays by Range is at 4 Newman Avenue, Camp Hill.
*Incidentally, Gillian Letham also considered the former Ze Pickle spot before deciding to opening Clover Neighbourhood Bar two suburbs over in Holland Park. See our article and podcast episode featuring Gillian.
Mick Wüst is the author of the book Beer Drinker's Toolkit, a fun and approachable guide to beer. He's also a freelance copywriter for the beer industry. You can find him on Instagram as Schoonerversity.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
I'm sure I'd had good beers before this, but the first barrel-aged imperial stout I ever tried made me feel like Popeye with spinach.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
- Balter XPA
- Wayward Raspberry Berliner Weisse
- Boatrocker Ramjet
The last beer you enjoyed:
A IIPA from Woopi Brewing that tasted like fruit salad and resin.
Three things that represent you:
- Book - World War Z (seriously, give it a go - it's better than it sounds)
- Travel - Greece
- Food - all the bread and hot chips
