The Sydney kiosk that killed off an award-winning restaurant

It all started with a kiosk. In an otherwise uncelebrated part of Camperdown Memorial Park lies a patch of dirt where teenagers could sneak a couple of beers or friends might throw down a picnic rug.

That all changed last year when local restaurant Comedor announced plans to open a kiosk cafe in Newtown’s largest park, beloved by generations of residents for its proximity to the Courthouse Hotel and the remains of the 19th-century cemetery next door.

The Don’t Feed the Birds kiosk in Camperdown Memorial Rest Park. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Comedor argued the kiosk would serve coffee and pastries to parkgoers. Neighbours disagreed, claiming it would privatise land that had only ever been public.

The kiosk opened at the back of the graffitied, century-old building that housed Comedor on Australia Street in early January, with puppy parking, basic cafe fare and a terrace made of plastic grating masking the controversial past of its owner: Walter Shellshear.

Few neighbours were aware of Shellshear’s activities before he applied to temporarily expand the restaurant 30 square metres into the park last year.

Then things turned ugly. Neighbours say Shellshear would sit in his red Porsche four-wheel drive revving the engine late at night, kick his car and stand outside his restaurant delivering legal threats after they opposed his application.

Comedor’s staff walked out in December despite the restaurant scoring one of the fastest chef’s hats in Good Food Guide history, given in recognition of its innovative approach to Mexican cuisine, attentive service and light-filled warehouse fitout.

Comedor owner Walter Shellshear.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food revealed claims Shellshear had threatened to kill and deport his Comedor staff, failed to pay them on time and went on so many drunken rampages that it became its own phrase: “getting Waltered”.

Shellshear has denied the allegations and threatened to sue this masthead for defamation.

“Previous articles focusing viciously on me are having a significant negative impact on my welfare and reputation,” Shellshear said in a legal letter in December. “Please cease and desist publishing anything further involving me or Comedor.”

As the restaurant floundered, Shellshear turned his attention to the kiosk to save his business.

“Throughout the [council approval] process we’ve all had to interact with Walt and he’s [been] an extremely aggressive, unpleasant person,” said one neighbour, who asked not to be named due to concerns for their safety.

Through his lawyers, Shellshear said on Friday that his restaurant and cafe businesses “were the victims of repeated vexatious complaints by some neighbours”.

“These complaints were an example of selfish NIMBYism by a small yet vociferous cohort of neighbours, attempting to stifle a successful restaurant which added significant amenity to the neighbourhood and had the overwhelming support of the wider community,” the lawyers said.

“That these complaints were all baseless is demonstrated by the fact that none of them resulted in any further action by Inner West Council.”

Now it can be revealed that Shellshear has been convicted of deemed supply of a trafficable quantity of drugs, has had apprehended violence order applications made against him that were later dismissed, and despite proclaiming himself as an insolvency lawyer and threatening legal action against those who crossed his path, few in the profession have heard of him.

Shellshear is not listed on the NSW Law Society’s list of registered lawyers, which contains all practitioners with a valid practising certificate. His lawyers said Shellshear held a NSW practising certificate between 2001 and 2017. “He has not at any time misrepresented his professional qualifications,” they said.

Shellshear told this masthead in December: “I’m an insolvency lawyer who typically fights and doesn’t manage the media the best way.”

Six weeks before he was arrested for supplying drugs in August 2015, police raided his house and charged him with attempting to administer an intoxicating substance to a woman over a three-day period. Shellshear was found not guilty of that charge.

Shellshear was convicted of deemed supply of a trafficable quantity of MDMA in 2017. He was sentenced to a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to undergo substance and alcohol abuse prevention and anger management control.

Comedor restaurant was a quick success in Newtown.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Neighbours claim the drug conviction means Shellshear should not be running a licensed premises, let alone be running a kiosk in a park next to a children’s daycare centre.

They said everyone should be given a second chance.

“But Shellshear’s problems are sustained over many years. Why take the risk with him?” a group of neighbours said in a joint statement to this masthead. The neighbours declined to be identified, also citing fears for their safety.

“Walter Shellshear has a drug conviction, is a problem drinker and has a history of aggression and violence. Shellshear’s staff have had the closest interactions with him. They didn’t think he was safe to work with and walked out. We should listen to them.”

Liquor and Gaming NSW, the state regulator, took a risk in March last year when it awarded Comedor a liquor license despite Shellshear’s criminal history. The licence was registered under Jesse McTavish, a hospitality consultant who designed Comedor’s kitchen but left the restaurant before it opened.

“I’m really glad I had nothing to do with it,” McTavish said.

The business owner was registered as Foxtrot Tango Pty Ltd. Foxtrot Tango trades under the name Comedor. Shellshear is the company’s sole director.

Comedor staff would later call the regulator for urgent advice after being unable to quench Shellshear’s appetite for tequila or stop him from pulling wine off the shelves.

When they protested, he would allegedly blow cigarette smoke in the face of staff in the middle of service.

One employee claimed Shellshear threatened to “take a hit out” on her after she asked him to reduce his drinking at the restaurant. Another said “he would threaten to fire us if we didn’t give him alcohol”. Shellshear denied the allegations.

The erratic behaviour concerned staff, who pleaded with the 53-year-old former lawyer turned first-time restaurateur to let them do their jobs, which they claim they were not paid on time for.

Half a dozen staff said the delayed payments left them unable to make their rent or pay for groceries.

Shellshear blamed the restaurant’s demise on the behaviour of employees and accused this masthead of “attributing all of the chaos to me”.

“Comedor was successful despite difficulties with staff,” his lawyers said. “The replacement manager unilaterally shut the restaurant under the mistaken belief she was not paid on time.”

Comedor’s website has since been redeveloped: it is entirely devoted to Comedor’s payroll records.

“In response to the largely fictitious claims about Comedor, we have decided to publish specific records that entirely refute those claims,” the website states before listing each payroll date, amount and status between July and December last year.

But questions remain about what NSW Police knew about Shellshear’s history when Liquor and Gaming issued his company a liquor licence.

NSW Police said when a liquor licence is issued a probity check is conducted on all persons associated with the company to ensure they are considered “fit and proper”, including any criminal and compliance history.

“As a liquor licence has been issued to Foxtrot Tango Pty Limited, this clearly indicates that the probity checks passed the standard required to be issued a NSW Liquor Licence,” a NSW Police licensing supervisor told neighbours in September.

Liquor and Gaming NSW said it was “making inquiries regarding Mr Shellshear’s alleged criminal history and his association with the on-premises restaurant liquor licence at 182 Australia St”.

Shellshear has denied claims wages were not paid on time.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Shellshear rejected any suggestion that he would not be a fit and proper person to have a liquor licence or run the kiosk.

Inner West Greens councillor Liz Atkins said the council relied on Liquor and Gaming to ensure the right people had liquor licences.

“I think there are some serious policy questions about whether councils can act themselves,” she said.

In January, Greens councillors called for an investigation into the approval of the cafe which was initially given a short-term hirers agreement without a tender or a consultation process. After community uproar, a short consultation process resulted in 70 per cent of respondents to an online survey of more than 400 people opposing the development. Inner West Council approved the kiosk in November after reducing the size of the cafe and outdoor seating.

“This agreement will provide park users with direct access to one of Sydney’s best restaurants and add to the vibrancy and diversity of our hospitality offerings in the heart of Newtown,” it said in a statement.

Outside the kiosk, customers draped in leopard print and trucker hats walked their dogs and drank matcha iced teas last week.

“Don’t Feed the Birds,” read a small blackboard out front.

Inside, there was no divider between Comedor and the kiosk that Shellshear hoped would turn his fortunes around.

“Parkside cafe now open,” the sign outside Comedor on Australia Street said last week. “Under new management.”

The parkside cafe opened in January. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Shellshear’s lawyers said he no longer had involvement in the day-to-day running of the cafe.

But business records show “Don’t Feed the Birds” is registered under his company Landmark Recruitment Pty Ltd, formerly known as Judgement Debt Solutions, one of 30 companies that Shellshear is a current or former director of including Beta Whiskey Pty Ltd and Foxtrot Tango Pty Ltd. Shellshear is the sole director of both companies which sold the Comedor property to each other for $1.975 million in 2023.

That is a complicated business structure for a park kiosk.

“It’s not the idea of a cafe opening that is a concern,” said one neighbour. “The concern is dealing with Walter.”

Their concern may be short-lived. On Friday, neighbours reported the kiosk appeared to have shut down, its parkside window closed and blacked out.

Shellshear lawyers said the would-be restaurateur was “devastated” by the story published by this masthead in December.

“He has permanently closed Comedor and permanently moved away from the Newtown area, where he lived with his family for approximately 20 years,” his lawyers said.

“He is in the process of selling 182-184 Australia Street and the cafe has now permanently closed. He is no longer in the hospitality industry and has no intentions to work in it again.”