Two popular steakhouses in NSW have closed their doors citing “unforeseen circumstances”.
Liquidators have been appointed to Hog’s Breath Café branches in Tuggerah and Coffs Harbour, which are winding up their businesses, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The Daily Telegraph reports that both announced last Friday that they had closed.
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The Tuggerah branch, located within the suburb’s Westfield shopping centre, intially announced on Facebook that it was “temporarily closed” on Monday, May 22.
“To our loyal customers, we are temporarily closed due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologise for any inconvenience,” the post read.
Customers suggested the closure might not be as temporary as announced.
“Been selling all the fittings of the joint on (Facebook) Marketplace, so guessing it’s not temporary,” one person wrote. “Guessing it’s Westfield’s killer rent,” another said.
The Tuggerah business went into liquidation several years ago, with liquidators Steve Naidenov and Ian Niccol from Aston Chace Group appointed in December 2020, according to ASIC.
It is unclear whether the company changed hands within that time and is undergoing a second insolvency process in under three years, or whether ongoing efforts to salvage the business have now been abandoned.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted Aston Chace Group for comment.
According to the Telegraph, the liquidator said the Tuggerah restaurant had failed to bounce back from two years of COVID-related restrictions, and cited additional struggles with increased supplier costs, increased rental costs due to inflation, a lack of staff, and a recent brand relaunch.
They said the restaurant owed at least $740,000 to a range of creditors, and employees in the form of entitlements.
The Coffs Harbour branch said it was “closed until further notice” on May 3, and a notice of liquidation was published by ASIC weeks later.
A general meeting on May 29 with members of the company and appointed liquidator Michael Hogan from insolvency firm Hogan Sprowles resolved the company would be wound up, according to ASIC.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted Hogan Sprowles for comment.
The closures leave just seven Hogs Breath Cafe’s open in the state, and over 30 in operation nationwide.
Stores in St Marys, Penrith, Nelson Bay, Orange, Tamworth, Port Macquarie, and Wagga Wagga remain open.
The state’s branches join a number of branch closures by the restaurant chain in recent years.
The chain first opened their doors in 1989, in Airlie Beach in Queensland, and expanded to Mooloolaba before becoming a family favourite for meat-loving diners and once boasted over 80 stores in Australia and New Zealand.