Lucky Ducks third restaurant in Adelaide’s south to close this month, following Sourc’d Wine Bar

An innovative restaurant in Adelaide’s south will shut its doors – becoming the third in the area within weeks to close as the hospo crisis worsens.

Lucky Ducks owner Jac Lavat, ahead of the restaurant’s closure in May. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Vegan restaurant Lucky Ducks at Aldinga has become the third eatery in Adelaide’s south to announce its closure this month as the state’s hospitality crisis deepens.

Owner and head chef Jac Lovat, 36, said a downturn in trade and increased costs for labour, rent and supplies contributed to his decision to close the bar and restaurant on May 11 after three years.

“It feels like you’re just constantly putting the price up to match (increased costs), but then you’re almost pricing yourself out of the market,” he said.

“At the moment, we do okay. It’s enough for me to work and have a job, but it’s tough to expand or get other employees in.

“It’s just getting to the point where I’m like, ‘I can’t sustain this anymore’.”

Lucky Ducks owner Jac Lavat, ahead of the restaurant’s closure in May. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Vegan restaurant Lucky Ducks is closing in May. Pictured: Supplied

Mr Lovat said while he was sad about the closure, he had a strong drive to “give it another crack” as he considered future projects, such as pop-up restaurants at Aldinga under the same name or a permanent restaurant at a better trading location.

In early March, the team behind Sourc’d Wine Bar, also at Aldinga, said on social media that April 5 would be their last trading day “for reasons beyond our control”.

“Whilst we are heartbroken to leave, we are also positive that this may be the end of a chapter, but it is not going to be the end of Sourc’d,” the statement said.

“We are exploring options and trust that the universe will always lead us to the right path as long as our hearts are in the right place.”

Sourc'd at Aldinga will close in April. Picture: Supplied

Eighty Eight Seafood and Grill owner Bill Moularas, before the business closed last week Picture: Brett Hartwig

The beachside bar opened in 2018 and relaunched in 2021 after a closure during the Covid pandemic.

Another southern suburbs restaurant, Eighty Eight Seafood and Grill at Old Noarlunga, closed last week, after the owner struggled with a sharp rise in the cost of seafood.

The owners of vegan restaurant Two-Bit Villians in February said they would sell their popular Adelaide CBD business.

Mr Lovat, who became vegan in the years before opening Lucky Ducks, conceded the vegan market was “definitely tough”.

But he said he was pleasantly surprised by positive reviews from non-vegan customers – including comedian Sam Pang, who purchased a Lucky Ducks t-shirt in 2022 after dining at the restaurant.

Comedian Sam Pang was a fan of Lucky Ducks, wearing a t-shirt repping the restaurant in June 2022. Picture: Supplied

Comedian Sam Pang was a fan of Lucky Ducks, wearing a t-shirt repping the restaurant in June 2022. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve been told by a lot of friends who own businesses, ‘You shouldn’t have gone vegan, you should have at least done vegetarian’ … But I couldn’t do it,” he said.

Disappointed Lucky Ducks customers raved about the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram after Mr Lovat announced the closure on Monday, but he said on Thursday he had not yet read the tributes because they would make him sad.

Sourc’d owner Matt Johnston was contacted for further comment.