Brisbane restaurants go into liquidation owing staff $100K
The company behind two well-known Brisbane restaurants, Cha Cha Char and Il Centro at Eagle Street Pier, has entered liquidation owing staff $100,000 in wages.
Il Roy Pty Ltd was liquidated after a court ordered it to pay former employees more than $100,000. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a notice on Tuesday stating the company had been in liquidation.
It appointed corporate insolvency firm PCI Partners director Stephen Michell as the liquidator.
According to a Fair Work Ombudsman spokesman wind up orders were obtained against the company on October 18.
“Speaking generally, wind-up proceedings provide an avenue for a liquidator to be appointed to investigate the financial transactions of a company and to distribute any money and/or assets to pay debts such as any underpayments and any penalties,” he said.
The ombudsman filed a lawsuit against the company last year, following an investigation revealing that five full-time restaurant employees were underpaid between 2015 and 2020. The affected roles included the office manager, bar manager, restaurant manager, and two head chefs, who allegedly were not compensated for accrued but untaken annual leave. Additionally, four of these employees reportedly did not receive payment in lieu of termination notice or redundancy entitlements.
The court found that Il Roy Pty Ltd had failed to comply with a previous compliance notice, implicating Bingqi Zhao, the company's sole director and shareholder, in the violation. On November 2 last year, Judge Gregory Egan ordered the company to back-pay these workers a total of $108,720.81 in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in Brisbane. However, the case was later discontinued, and neither Il Roy nor Mr. Zhao faced penalties.
Cha Cha Char, once Brisbane's premier steakhouse, closed after its 2020 sale. The venue was rebranded as Tassis Group's Fatcow, located in the James Street precinct, which flourished until the Eagle Street Pier precinct's closure for redevelopment. Il Centro, a renowned Italian dining establishment founded in 1992, was also sold in 2020 to the Happy Fat Group (owners of Red Hook and Public) and reimagined as Coppa Spuntino after its CBD location struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neither Tassis Group nor Happy Fat Group is connected to the court proceedings or liquidation. Cha Cha Char and Il Centro’s social media accounts have been inactive since 2020, while Eagle Street Pier has been closed since 2022 for a multibillion-dollar redevelopment.
Jonathan Jackson, 28th October 2024
