Dirty Grill Coffee Bar, which previously operated Pretty Handsome cafe, in liquidation

The company behind a popular Gold Coast cafe, that battled the council for two years, has collapsed owing more than $350,000 to unsecured creditors. Read what happened

The company which launched a popular Miami cafe has collapsed owing more than $350,000 to unsecured creditors.

Dirty Grill Coffee Bar, which previously operated the Pretty Handsome cafe on Lemana Lane, went into voluntary liquidation on June 14.

The Pretty Handsome business and branding was bought by father and son Hardi and Declan Ellaz who have operated the cafe via their unrelated company for the past six months.

Dirty Grill is directed and owned by Kate Bartels and Cleo Watterson, who had battled for more than two years to secure council approval for their expansion of the business.

A report on company affairs and property submitted to ASIC showed the company owed more than $350,000, mostly to the ATO.

Cleo Watterson ready to toast her business goodbye late last year. Picture Glenn Hampson

Ms Watterson said the directors had worked hard to pay off as much debt to staff and suppliers as they could before deciding to liquidate the company.

“We tried our best to do everything we could and we just reached a point where we had to talk to our accountant and see what we had to do,” she said.

“We just really didn’t have another option.”

The business partners were forced to close the Burleigh hotspot in December last year after withdrawing a development application for part of the premises which was not zoned for hospitality.

The new owners, who reopened the cafe a month later, are operating in the approved part of the property.

Declan Ellaz, new co-owner of Pretty Handsome, which remains open under the new ownership. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Ms Watterson said she’d had a break since the “heartbreaking” loss of the business the pair had worked on for more than four years, but hoped to return to hospitality.

“Hospitality is my career, I’ve just had a break because I was working every day,” she said.

“It’s taken me a little while to move on.”

Jason Bettles of Worrells was appointed liquidator of the Dirty Grill company.

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