The Saint Hotel put into liquidation
One of St Kilda’s most infamous hotels will soon be no more.
The pub, which achieved all sorts of notoriety with a bare-chested dwarf strutting the bar and pouring beer down patrons’ throats, is being put into liquidation.
The Saint Hotel Pty Ltd went bust a few weeks ago, owing about $1.7 million.
And the list of creditors is impressive. There are dozens of them including luxury alcohol brand Moet Hennessy.
The Saint Hotel owes the Australian Taxation Office more than $300,000.
Liquidators Roger Reidy were called in on April 17 to manage the “shell” company.
Landlord Chris Maziotis, who took possession of the watering hole over unpaid rent, has been a director of the failed company since 2010.
The place is also best known as the hangout for AFL footballers and celebrities. For instance, socialite Brynne Edelsten and cricketer Brian Lara are among the many celebrities seen sitting around the bar.
But its real claim to fame was the way it made headlines in 2008 when it was forced to cancel a “No Undie Sundie” promotion. It was a simple idea: free alcohol to women who took off their knickers.
The dwarf on the bar pouring booze down people’s throats was an added attraction.
Paul Nguyen and Simon Blacher tried giving it a new lease on life when they put it through a major renovation and reopened as the St Hotel in 2014 under a new business structure.
Mr Blacher insists the St Hotel has not closed down at all.
“We are not shutting down, we are just rejigging,” Mr Blacher told the Herald Sun.
“The St is still open and definitely still trading.”
Still, the place is empty.
Roger Reidy director Geoff Handberg said there will be an investigation into what went wrong.
“I assume the landlord is still in possession and trading it or in the process of entering into a lease with a new company,” Mr Handberg told the Herald Sun.
by Leon Gettler, April 26th 2017
