Portia’s Place has closed after 30 years serving Cantonese food in Kingston. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Kingston icon Portia’s Place has apparently shut for good, after a final service on 10 May. The Cantonese restaurant closed without fanfare, or even a sign on the door.
Neighbouring business owners say that Portia’s owners were already thinking about retirement and wanted to sell the business, but the upcoming disruptions due to planned roof repairs were “the last straw.”
The landlord, Myuna Pty Ltd, had told tenants that significant work was needed to repair the roof, which had been damaged by a hailstorm in 2020. Repair works done in 2021 apparently did not adequately fix the issue, and further remediation was required.
The building on the corner of Giles and Kennedy streets houses six tenants, including Queenies, Tintino, Portia’s Place, Sushi Go, Scoop Wholefoods and 45 90 Framing.
Region has seen an email sent to tenants of the building from the landlord’s real estate agent on 19 March, advising that works would require businesses to shut for 10 weeks while remediation work was completed.
Previous communication had apparently advised that works would be completed in separate four-week stages, with each stage affecting only one or two businesses at a time. This email gave tenants eight weeks’ notice before the works were due to commence. Tenants were told they would not be required to pay rent during these 10 weeks.
Region was told by a neighbouring tenant in the building that the chef at Portia’s Place had booked a holiday for the 10 weeks of the shutdown.
The remediation works would apparently involve removing the entire roof. Tenants were advised to move valuable stock out of the premises, to complete extensive photo and video records of their space, to provide a full account of all contents in case of damage, and to cover all remaining surfaces with dust sheets.
Kingston shops on the corner of Kennedy and Giles Street. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A subsequent email from the landlord’s lawyers, sent five weeks later, advised tenants that the roof repairs would be delayed while Myuna liaised with their insurer about compensation payments for tenants due to loss of income during the repairs.
This email was sent after 5 pm on Friday, ahead of the Anzac Day long weekend.
The notice of closure and subsequent reversal of this decision had notable business impacts on tenants.
Region heard that, in those five weeks, businesses had stopped taking bookings, advised customers of the closure, declined business opportunities and, in some cases, even let staff members go.
Region was also told by a neighbour that the chef at Portia’s was going ahead with their travel plans regardless, so the restaurant would also have found themselves without a key staff member for 10 weeks.
The building was included in an ACT Heritage Council listing in August 2025, which covers the original 1920s façades, parapets and awnings.
It appears that, faced with these challenges, Portia’s Place owners decided to simply retire without fanfare. It’s an anticlimactic finale for a business that has been a mainstay of Kingston since 1996.
Portia’s Place was a favourite of politicians and has hosted a number of prime ministers, including Julia Gillard, Paul Keating, Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd.
With the spectre of a lengthy closure at an unspecified future date hanging over the building, it seems unlikely that the lease will be snapped up any time soon, and the other tenants are left to wonder if and when the landlord’s insurance claim will be settled, when the repairs will be done, and whether they will receive compensation for 10 weeks of lost custom.
Region contacted Myuna Pty Ltd’s representatives and was told they do not intend to make any public comment.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
