Glenelg Pier Hotel’s function room business collapses but booked events can go ahead
THE business that ran the Glenelg Pier Hotel’s restaurants, bars and function spaces has collapsed – but dozens of events booked at the waterfront location can still go ahead.
THE business that ran the Glenelg Pier Hotel’s restaurants, bars and function spaces has collapsed but dozens of booked events can still go ahead.
New management has taken over operation of the venues – including two bars, a gaming room and three restaurants – which remain open to the public.
Liquidator Dominic Cantone, from firm Worrells, told The Advertiser the decision to liquidate S Gunnelg Pty Ltd, the business that operated the hospitality venues, was made late last week due to an “accumulated landlord debt”.
He stressed the business was separate from hotel Oaks Plaza Pier, located in the same building.
Mr Cantone said 50 people had paid deposits for events, including weddings and engagement parties, worth more than $50,000.
If people wanted to still have their event at the venues, those deposits would be honoured by the new operators Entertainment Venues Australia but the terms of booked event packages were still to be determined.
“We haven’t had a chance to go through individual events as such, we’ve only looked at deposits at this stage,” Entertainment Venues Australia director Elli Cakar said.
“We will have to look at what the actual events entail and what the event packages are. We will be doing everything within reason to keep people happy.”
Mr Cakar was unable to confirm the fate of more than 30 current staff members but said “we’ve got everyone on casual at the moment”.
He said they would be in contact with people who had booked events in “the coming weeks”, but anyone with pressing concerns can contact the venue directly and speak with new general manager Tony Waterman.
Mr Cakar said they had “a range of preliminary ideas” to improve the venues’ offerings, including renovations in the bars and opening a new fine dining restaurant. They have also secured a new head chef.
“I originally come from Glenelg and we saw the venue back in its heyday when it was going really well and we thought we could bring it back to its former glory,” he said.
The Glenelg venues are the most recent additions to Mr Cakar’s expanding hospitality profile. He said his business had also secured city bar and restaurant The Propaganda Club, which fell into the hands of liquidators late last year. The revamped Grenfell St club, to be renamed Propaganda, is expected to reopen mid-August.