Current hard times just the entree for struggling Brisbane eateries
More Brisbane restaurants will close their doors on the heels of two of the city's glamour establishments shutting this week, with crippling Federal and State Government taxes blamed.
Veteran Brisbane restaurateur Mathew Hill-Smith, who ran the Pier Nine eatery in Brisbane for more than 20 years, yesterday slammed taxes for the closure of Philip Johnson's Bistro One Eleven and Ortiga in Fortitude Valley.
He said it was cheaper to eat in cities such as London, Milan and Paris than Brisbane - and taxes were to blame.
Mr Hill-Smith said Brisbane was becoming too expensive to go out and eat.
"The thing is that restaurants cop all these taxes along with CBD parking, whereas clubs and hotels are subsidised by poker machines so they can survive and prosper,'' he said.
"In a restaurant you have taxes from council on your licences, taxes on having tables outside and then there is payroll tax, super, FBT, the wine and beer tax and then the huge penalty rate regime under former PM Kevin Rudd.''
Mr Hill-Smith said as of last year a Federal Award was introduced for restaurants and that included steep penalty rates on Saturday and Sunday trade and public holidays.
"I am not advocating you have slave wages and dud kids out of a fair wage but you have to have something that is economic," he said.
Celebrity chef Phillip Johnson’s Bistro One Eleven at 111 Eagle St, Brisbane had been open a little over a year.
Local restaurateur John Kilroy, who has run the successful Cha Cha Char and Jellyfish restaurants, conceded times had changed but business needed to adapt.
"We live in a changing environment. At lunchtime things have changed because a lot of mining companies and legal firms have a zero tolerance (on drinking). That has been as big a hit as FBT,'' he said.
"However at night our trade is better than ever but you need to watch the trends and understand the market.''
The latest closures come as Brisbane Restaurant and Catering Industry Association CEO John Hart this week estimated that about 30 Brisbane CBD establishments had closed their doors in a year. He also predicts more closures.
"The fact is there are a large number of high-end restaurants in Brisbane and this phenomenon of wage-cost pressure weighs a lot on the top end because they are quite labour-intensive. These businesses are feeling the pinch."
Mr Hill-Smith's opinion on thriving European eateries and lack of tax was shared by local businessman Greg Rudd, brother of the former PM, who has just returned from a trip to London.
"I stayed in London's CBD and every night all the restaurants I wandered past were full. They don't have the taxes,'' Mr Rudd said.
Mr Hill-Smith said people "simply cannot afford to eat out any more because it is just too expensive.''
Source: The Australian, 11 October 2013
