CHOC CHAIN MAXED OUT
Popular dessert restaurant set to close its doors
TWENTY Max Brenner employees have lost their jobs with three days notice as administrators for the struggling chocolate restaurant chain shut the doors on its Toowoomba location after less than 12 months.
The store in the Grand Central Shopping Centre will close after today, along with eight others across Queensland.
It marks a turning point in the company’s recent financial woes, with administrators from McGrathNicol and Partners deciding more than half of the chain’s stores were no longer viable.
The Toowoomba Max Brenner open on October 19 last year with much fanfare.
EMPLOYEES of Max Brenner in Toowoomba will work their final shift for the company today after the ill-fated location’s fate was sealed just days ago.
The national chocolate restaurant chain’s store in Grand Central Shopping Centre is one of nine across Queensland to shut its doors at the close of business, putting 20 full-time and casual workers out of a job in the process.
It comes as administrators for Max Brenner Australia made the decision to close more than half of the struggling company’s restaurants across the country.
Workers were told on Friday of their fates that they had just three more days left in a job.
While Toowoomba staff declined to comment on the sackings, it’s believed all permanent staff were promised full redundancy entitlements, provided they worked the remaining shifts.
It is understood staff saw the impending closure of the shop “coming for a long time”.
Max Brenner went into voluntary administration on September 28, before McGrathNicol Partners declared that 20 of the stores were not financially viable, including Toowoomba’s.
“The decision to close stores is always regrettable but in this case we were left with no choice following a store-bystore review of Max Brenner operations,” administrator Barry Kogan told The CourierMail.
“The remaining 17 stores in
the Max Brenner network will stay open and it will be business as usual in these stores.
“These stores are profitable
and will be offered for sale or recapitalisation.” Reactions were mixed from Chronicle readers on Facebook, with some sad to hear of the closure.
However, others were quick to voice their displeasure about the placement of the store and some of the service quality.
“I feel sorry for the employees but not sad to see this overly priced, average tasting place go,” Shara Helmstedt wrote.
“Probably the worst position for a coffee shop in Grand Central, no walk by traffic. Expensive too,” Dean Gough added.
Despite some of the negative comments, Max Brenner was still filled with customers over the weekend.