Welcome to the first in our end of year series of interviews with the people behind the award winning bars from this year’s Boothby Best Bars Awards program. First up, Peter Hollands, owner of Frog’s Hollow Saloon in Brisbane.
At the Boothby Best Bars QLD Awards back in June, Frog’s Hollow Saloon walked away with a couple of big awards. They were the winners, for the second year running, of The Best Hospitality Team in Queensland presented by Perrier — a recognition of their focus on service (and something that owner Pete Hollands talks about below).
And for the second time in three years, Frog’s Hollow Saloon took out the number on spot on the list and the major award of The Best Bar in Queensland presented by Never Never.
So what are the reasons behind Frog’s Hollow Saloon’s success? To get an understanding of what makes the bar tick, and how they’re approaching the year ahead, we asked owner Peter Hollands — who also has Alice, The Alliance Hotel, and the newly opened Shaman under his group banner — a few questions.
BOOTHBY: In your opinion, what is it about your bar that resonates with the bar industry?
PETER HOLLANDS: Being able to sit at the bar and have a chat. I love the casual nature of our venue, I’m obsessed with those scenes in Cheers where the regulars walk straight into the bar as a beer appears in front of them. I think we do a pretty good job of replicating that. However for that to work, you need to have a team that always want to have a chat. Our overall goal, above all else, is that we are the best conversationalists.
BOOTHBY: How do you describe your bar to people who are only just learning of it?
PETER HOLLANDS: ‘Country, whisky, saloon’ is the short tag line. But if I’m actually getting into it, I describe the reveal. I love the space we found, and more so I love that it’s just above street level so it almost seems hidden even though it’s got 20m of street frontage, and punters get that super cool experience of finding such a big room right off the street.
BOOTHBY: What’s the most popular to order classic cocktail at your bar?
PETER HOLLANDS: Our house Old Fashioned however I’m not sure you’d call that particular drink classic. Outside that, the Margarita still rules the roost.
BOOTHBY: Can you describe the attributes you look for in a bartender at your bar?
PETER HOLLANDS: Our GM James Gamble is in charge of hiring nowadays, however something we’ve always said was that we wanted to find great bartenders we haven’t heard of before. We’re all aware there is a pretty tight clique within the bar community, and it’s easy to just keep hiring within it. We want to help bartenders make their name, and there is a lot of talent out there.
BOOTHBY: What rough percentage of the sales mix is cocktails?
PETER HOLLANDS: 30 percent, except for Saturdays where it’s almost 50 percent.
BOOTHBY: How are you finding business in a general sense — are the people out there spending like they did a year ago? Is it better or worse?
PETER HOLLANDS: I don’t think people are spending more however we are certainly busier. I think we’ve done a good job of balancing our brand and offering to appeal to a very broad demographic of punters. We’ve got XXXX Gold on tap, and a snazzy cocktail and whisky list. Also opening at midday the venue can accommodate different types of occasions as the day changes into night.
BOOTHBY: What’s the biggest challenge the bar faces as a business over the next year?
PETER HOLLANDS: Keeping the team engaged. With another baby born, and bar opening this year, my focus is stretched. We used to do our 121s every month, then every quarter, now it’s more like every six months. We’ve got to be better than that and make sure the team feels engaged and that they are achieving their professional and personal goals. I think the next step is to build a group management team to assist with this.
BOOTHBY: What gives you hope and optimism as a bar owner for 2026?
PETER HOLLANDS: Brisbane continues to grow. The Olympics are the talk of the town, even seven years before they are due to kick off. We’ve got new underground rail infrastructure opening in 2026 which will move the city centre down toward the Botanical Gardens which will be a big win for all my venues. If this buzz lasts until 2032 we’ll be in a very strong space.
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Sam Bygrave
