Curly Lewis Brewing Co closes doors to public owing millions in liabilities, administrators appointed

A popular Bondi brewery mistakenly set alight in a shambolic firebombing has shut its doors after racking up millions in debt.

Curly Lewis Brewing Co have shut their doors to the public, as a result of the company owing millions of dollars. Picture: Instagram

A Bondi brewery owing millions of dollars which was mistakenly set alight by arsonists has closed its doors to the public, with the future of the company to be determined in the coming days.

Bbago Pty Ltd, trading as Curly Lewis Brewing Co, was first registered in 2016 but commenced trading in 2022.

Alan Walker and Nicholas Charlwood of WLP Restructuring were appointed administrators of the company on May 23.

According to their estimates, Curly Lewis Brewing Co owes approximately $8 million in liabilities.

The administrators said shareholders withdrew their continued funding after a period of losses.

Curly Lewis Brewing Co operated in Bondi. Picture: Instagram

As a result of ongoing economic challenges, the company’s directors concluded they no longer had the financial resources to continue operating the brewery.

The company also manufactured some of its wholesale beer products under a third-party manufacturing agreement and employed four full-time and 25 casual staff.

The future of Curly Lewis Brewing Co will be decided in the coming days. Picture: Instagram

All employees have since been made redundant to reduce costs during the remainder of the sale campaign.

No commercial offers have been received from interested parties, and administrators ceased trading and operations at the premises on June 16.

While the company’s retail operations have shut down, administrators have continued to trade the wholesale business in a limited capacity in order to realise the remaining inventory, which would otherwise be abandoned.

The primary reason administrators were appointed was the withdrawal of shareholder funding.

Curly Lewis Brewing Co was located in Bondi. Picture: Instagram

According to records, shareholders contributed around $8 million to the business through a combination of cash deposits and payment of company invoices between FY22 and March 2025.

The company’s failure has also been attributed to a number of factors, including a downturn in the industry, declining sales of independent beer, increased cost-of-living pressures, reduced consumer spending across the hospitality sector, high rental costs and ongoing trading losses.

The administrators’ report shows the company owes $350,000 to the ATO, $141,000 to trade and other creditors, and $8.1 million to related party creditors.

In a statement on social media, the company said it had made the “incredibly difficult decision to close the doors to our Bondi brewery”.

In a statement, Curly Lewis Brewing said rising costs of living were attributed to the company being forced to close their doors. Picture: Google

“Rising costs, relentless rent, and the broader challenges facing both the hospitality and craft beer industry have made it impossible for us to keep going.

“To our amazing team, our dedicated suppliers, and every single person who walked through our doors, raised a glass, or cracked open a can of Curly – you’ve meant the world to us. Your support, laughter and love kept us going more than you know.”

On October 17 last year, two men poured accelerant under the front door of the Curly Lewis Brewing Company before lighting it and fleeing about 2am.

The incident was a case of mistaken identity, with Curly Lewis not the business intended to be targeted.

The much-vaunted venture set up by long-time eastern suburbs identities Adam Richards, Oliver dos Remedios, Gareth and Loren Morton, and brewer Scotty Morgan was an effort to transplant inner west Sydney’s brewery culture to the beaches.

The two main beers at launch were the Curly Lewis Clean Cut Lager and Bondi Hazy Ale, with the ale winning a GABS Hottest 100 Austsie Craft Beers of 2024 ranking at #78.

It is now one of a string of Sydney breweries that have fallen on hard times, including Akasha Brewery in Five Dock and Waywards Brewing in Newtown.

Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee’s company Sydney Beer Co also collapsed into administration before it received a lifeline as creditors backed a rescue deal.

A second meeting of creditors is set to be held on Monday to determine the future of Curly Lewis.