Shannon Kellam’s French fine diner Montrachet goes bust after 20 years of business
Liquidators have been called in for a Brisbane dining institution which has been placed into voluntary administration after 20 years of trade, just a month after its sibling company went bust.
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Much-loved French fine dining restaurant Montrachet has been placed into voluntary administration after 20 years of operation.
McGrathNicol were appointed voluntary administrators of Cuisinier Australis – the company behind the Brisbane institution in inner-city Bowen Hills – this week, putting an end to two decades of culinary history.
“It is with a heavy heart, that I regret to advise that we have made the very difficult decision to place the business into administration,” said owner Shannon Kellam in a statement.
“We are very grateful for the ongoing support provided by our clientele, staff and suppliers over the past 20 years.”
Mark Holland from McGrathNicol said the administrators were undertaking an urgent appraisal of the business.
“This includes liaising with key stakeholders and secured creditors to determine whether a sale and/or recapitalisation of Montrachet is possible,” Mr Holland said.
The restaurant will continue trading this weekend as normal, with liquidators hoping for a sale to prevent any job losses. However, they could not reveal how many staff could be affected if the business was forced to close.
The collapse comes just over a month after Mr Kellam’s bakery empire BCN Events Group collapsed, with 90 staff left without jobs.
BCN was placed into voluntary liquidation on May 28, resulting in the closures of cafe and patisserie Mica in Newstead, Mica Express in Brisbane’s CBD, King St Bakery in Bowen Hills, wholesale services provided by the Kneadery in Newstead and cooking school Lumiere.
Montrachet had just celebrated its 20th anniversary, after first opening in 2004 under then owners Thierry and Carol Galichet.
It was sold to Mr Kellam and his wife Clare in 2015, who moved the Paddington favourite to its current location along King St in Bowen Hills in 2017.
Mr Kellam told The Courier-Mail last month that Montrachet had been experiencing financial difficulties, with its insurance having more than doubled from $10,000 to $22,000 a year, while gas, electricity and wage bills were also skyrocketing.
Despite this, he had made bold plans to move the restaurant into the CBD once its Bowen Hills lease expired in 2029.
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