Chef Andrew McConnell and Trader House co-owner Jo McGann will take over Melbourne’s Stokehouse from the Van Haandel family in October
The handover brings the family’s 36-year operation of the St Kilda restaurant to an end, with Stokehouse set to join the Trader House portfolio alongside venues including Gimlet, Cutler, Cumulus Inc., Supernormal and Marion.
Andrew and Jo will work alongside Stokehouse’s existing leadership team during the transition, with broader updates to the restaurant planned for 2027.
A Melbourne restaurant changes hands
The Van Haandel family opened Stokehouse on St Kilda Beach in 1990 and has operated the waterfront venue for more than three decades.
Frank Van Haandel, Sharon Van Haandel and their son Hugh Van Haandel will hand the restaurant to Andrew and Jo in October, closing a significant chapter in Melbourne hospitality.
The original Stokehouse building was destroyed by fire in January 2014. The restaurant was later rebuilt on the same site, with the permanent venue reopening in December 2016.
The current precinct includes the upstairs Stokehouse dining room and Stokehouse Pasta & Bar on the ground floor. The lower-level restaurant opened under its current format in November 2022, replacing the more casual Pontoon venue.
Both restaurants are expected to continue operating throughout the handover.
The existing team
Stokehouse Executive Chef Jason Staudt, General Manager Lee Smith and Group Sommelier Wil Martin will remain with the restaurant during the transition to Trader House.
Jason has led the Stokehouse kitchen since his appointment as Executive Chef in 2019. Before moving to Melbourne, he served as Head Chef at Aria Sydney from 2013 to 2017 before leading the kitchen at Bea at Barangaroo House from 2017 to 2019.
Retaining the current leadership team means the chefs, managers and beverage professionals responsible for Stokehouse’s day-to-day operation will remain in place when Trader House takes over.
Andrew and Jo are expected to work with the team through the restaurant’s first summer under the group, with no immediate major changes planned.
The initial focus will be on understanding the venue, its operation and the people already leading it before any broader updates are introduced.
Andrew’s connection to the Van Haandels
The handover reconnects Andrew with the family he worked with during an earlier stage of his career.
Andrew was Head Chef at Circa, the Prince during the restaurant’s time at the Prince of Wales Hotel in St Kilda. Operated by Frank and John Van Haandel, Circa became one of Melbourne’s most recognised restaurants during the 2000s.
Frank and Sharon were also early supporters of Andrew when he opened Cutler & Co. in Fitzroy.
That existing relationship gives the handover a different context from a takeover involving an incoming operator with no previous connection to the restaurant.
Andrew and Jo will become responsible for a venue they already know, while continuing to work with the team currently leading its kitchen, dining room and wine program.
Stokehouse joins Trader House
Trader House operates restaurants, bars and food businesses across Melbourne and Brisbane.
Its portfolio includes Gimlet, Cutler, Cumulus Inc., Supernormal, Marion, Builders Arms Hotel, Apollo Inn, Côte Basque, Meatsmith and Morning Market, as well as Supernormal and Bar Miette in Brisbane.
Stokehouse will become one of Trader House’s largest and most established venues when the handover is completed in October.
It will also add a beachfront restaurant to a portfolio largely concentrated around Melbourne’s CBD and inner suburbs.
What happens next
Trader House plans to preserve the people and characteristics associated with Stokehouse rather than introduce immediate major changes.
Plans to update and develop both the upstairs restaurant and Stokehouse Pasta & Bar are expected to be considered in 2027, although details have not yet been announced.
Until the October handover, Stokehouse will continue operating under the Van Haandel family and its current leadership team.
The transition will close the family’s 36-year chapter at the restaurant while placing Stokehouse under the leadership of operators with a longstanding connection to the Van Haandels and Melbourne’s hospitality industry.
