Stonnington: The hospitality businesses which have been liquidated in 2021
Last drinks could have been served at bars on a famous Melbourne party strip, with businesses linked to the venues filing for liquidation. Here are the businesses affected.
Inner East
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A common director of a number of Melbourne bars including venues on Chapel St appears to have gone bust.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission register, eight businesses were collectively placed into liquidation on March 29.
They included businesses formerly trading under names including South Yarra’s Blue Bar and Brighton’s Mothers’ Milk.
Another Windsor bar, La La Land, which has another venue in the CBD, is also believed to be affected.
Three other businesses were also listed in the notice — MC Bar Group, LLL Nominees and Athina Windsor Nominees.
Liquidator Jeremy Robert Abeyratne, of Melbourne firm APL Insolvency, is collectively handling the wind-up of the eight businesses.
A spokesman from the firm said all eight businesses had a collective director, but it was also working with several other people involved in each business to finalise matters.
Blue Bar appears to be still be open based on recent activity on their Facebook page.
But calls by Leader to La La Land Windsor and Mothers’ Milk were not answered.
Mothers’ Milk last updated its Facebook profile picture in late April, its first post since March 2020.
La La Land’s most recent posts were in early 2020.
The liquidations come after other venues in Stonnington and St Kilda bit the dust earlier this year.
Operators of St Kilda restaurant St Moritz, Crew Entertainment Pty Ltd, were placed in liquidation on February 11.
The Acland St venue’s last Facebook post was just under a year earlier before the coronavirus pandemic hit, and its phone number is disconnected.
Two Chapel St cafes have also shut for good this year.
Operators of Found Off Chapel, Cafe Founders Pty Ltd, filed for liquidation on January 20, with its last visible Facebook posts in 2019 and its phone number disconnected.
South Yarra’s Lucky Penny also shut for good at the start of March.
Operators Matt Lanigan and co-owner Tavis Rogerson placed their company Tamati into liquidation on April 7 according to ASIC’s register.
Leader also understands a business which was linked to Prahran bar Beyond The Palms was placed in liquidation on March 19.
However, a staff member said the club was operating as normal when contacted by Leader.
Chapel Street Precinct general manager Chrissie Maus said she knew of three other venues in the precinct which had closed in the past 12 months.
They included South Yarra’s Side Street Bar and Prahran’s Tokosan and Nudge Nudge.
“Covid has been financially crippling for our Chapel Street Precinct’s bars and nightclubs,” she said.
“If snap lockdowns continue, some of our iconic entertainment venues, where we have all made some of our best memories, will be forced to close permanently.
“There is currently no JobKeeper or rent relief and this is causing extreme distress to business owners and employees alike”.
The list of liquidated businesses linked to inner city venues in 2021 so far:
Cafe Founders Pty Ltd
Venue: Found Off Chapel
Location: South Yarra
Notice date: January 20
Crew Entertainment Pty Ltd
Venue: St Moritz
Location: St Kilda
Notice date: February 11
Beyond The Palms Pty Ltd
Venue: Beyond The Palms
Location: South Yarra
Notice date: March 19
Tamati Pty Ltd
Venue: Lucky Penny
Location: South Yarra
Notice Date: April 7
Bluebar 330 Pty Ltd
Venue: Bluebar
Location: Prahran
Notice date: March 29
The Elwood Lounge Pty Ltd
Venue: Mothers Milk Brighton
Location: Brighton
Notice date: March 29
La La Land Australia Pty Ltd
Venue: La La Land
Location: Windsor
Notice date: March 29
- A previous version of this story contained references to Wonderland Bar in Windsor being placed into liquidation. Wonderland Bar is trading as a functioning business and a past company in that name is in liquidation
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