Surfers Irish bar enters liquidation
ONE of the Gold Coast’s seemingly most popular bars has gone into liquidation after its shock closure this week.
Fiddlers Green Irish Bar on Cavill Ave officially wound up on Wednesday. Peter Dinoris, from Artemis Insolvency, has been appointed the liquidator.
Spokesman for Mr Dinoris, Glen Reeve, said it was too early to say what went wrong and what the company owed. However, he confirmed debts were outstanding.
“Yes, there are debts but we are still in the process of collecting company records,” he said.
“Peter’s job is to take possession of company assets and records, identifying the assets and reporting to the creditors over the next three months.”
Mr Dinoris said they would determine if anyone was interested in the business.
Reports that the closure may have been due to a large rent increase was disputed by a source close to the company.
Fiddlers operated in a building owned by Geoffrey Smith, who owns the whole corner lot as well as the Bavarian Haus Restaurant next door.
Mr Smith opened the German restaurant in 1975. He sold it in the early 2000s.
Mr Smith declined to comment on the Fiddlers closure.
The source said they were “100 per cent sure” Mr Smith would not have raised the rent, but said the Commonwealth Games had a huge impact on many businesses in the area and Fiddlers did not recover.
Property manager for the building Rudi Scutti said Mr Smith had a good reputation as a building owner and had been known to relieve rent during tough times.
The Irish pub opened in Surfers Paradise since 2007. It was opened by the Tormey family, including Graham Tormey, who managed the bar from Ireland.
Mr Tormey did not respond to the Bulletin’s calls yesterday and a woman who was on the Fiddlers premises yesterday and who identified herself as an owner also declined to comment.
The venue’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been deleted. However, the website remains live and unedited, stating Fiddlers “has become a home away from home for many”.