Burger joints, bars and restaurants are gaining traction as the most favoured tenants in town.
As the capital cities welcome more residents, the demand for entertainment and places to meet and eat is on the ascendancy.
Landlords are more than happy to accommodate the tenants as they tend to take longer leases, use redundant space at ground level and can pay higher rents.
One of the latest is celebrity chef Neil Perry who has signed up his Burger Project at the revamped MLC Centre.
It will be his second outlet in a city where upmarket burger bars are the must-have tenants. World Square is home to the first Burger Project.
Across the city, more than 10 new burger places have opened, offering everything from the traditional meat patty between a roll or bun, to the exotic that comes with a wide range of sauces, salads, fries and with chicken, fish or vegetarian.
The so-called burger wars have also put pressure on the traditional players, McDonald's and Hungry Jacks, which have launched new menus.
McDonald's closed its site on the corner of George and Bridge streets in Sydney this year. It will focus on expanding its long-held restaurant at Circular Quay.
Neil Perry's Burger Project, which is due to open before Christmas, will complete stage one of the revitalisation of the MLC Centre's food offering, which includes eight new retailers from a range of local and national operators such as Bun Me, Schnitz, Top Juice, the SumoSalad Green Label concept and Famous Fish by Costi.
Burger Project will also offer breakfast foods to keep the office workers going until lunchtime.
The MLC Centre is co-owned by GPT Group and Queensland Investment Corp (QIC), which are undertaking a $330 million upgrade of the Harry Seidler-designed building, complete with a repositioning of the retail concourse.
GPT's head of investment management for office, David Burgess, said a major component of the MLC Centre redevelopment had been attracting "dynamic growth companies and innovative brands".
Restaurant Hubert is due to open early next year on the ground floor at Investa Office Fund's 6 O'Connell Street, formerly a Chinese restaurant. It was leased through Craig Hibbard and Scott Harris of Property Partnership Australia.
The hospitality operator, Swillhouse, which owns Baxter Inn, Shady Pines and Frankie's Pizza, has signed a 10-year lease for the 720-square-metre space.
Plans are under way to transform the existing space into a 150-seat restaurant and bar which will have a "sophisticated yet rustic interior", and a classic European feel. Dan Pepperell from 10 William Street will head up the kitchen and Swillhouse's Anton Forte will manage the bar. The restaurant will be managed by an experienced team from Swillhouse, including Jason Scott, Stefan Forte, Toby Hilton and Anthony Moore, formerly of Monopole and Bentley.
Kiran Bhana, general manager, 6 O'Connell Street, for Investa, said this was the first of many initiatives by the group to create value by repositioning the retail offering: underpinning the attractiveness of the asset to office users over the long term.
