Popular place in last meal
Coast duo’s restaurant goes under
ANOTHER Gold Coast restaurant has gone bust, with a popular eatery at Chevron Island the latest to sink into liquidation, less than two years after it opened.
That Italian Place on Thomas Drive was placed into liquidation on Tuesday with debts estimated to be up to $130,000.
Company records show the company was owned and directed by chef Antonino Ieracitano, known as Nino, and partner Belinda Lane, a dessert specialist who also ran frontof-house operations.
To the delight of regular customers, the pair returned to the Gold Coast in 2017 after leaving in 2001 after running a popular predecessor restaurant by the same name for three years at Mermaid Beach.
The couple spent the years
IT’S VERY EARLY ON AND I’M TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE COMPANY LIQUIDATOR MATT BOOKLESS
in between raising their children across the border in Griffith, where they also opened a That Italian Place, which they no longer operate.
Liquidator Matt Bookless said the owners’ health issues and a lack of profit had contributed to the restaurant’s financial failure.
“It’s very early on and I’m trying to piece together the financial position of the company, but it looks like profitability would have been a major factor, which it often is,” he said.
Mr Bookless said initial estimates showed the company owed around $120,000 in tax and $5000 to suppliers. It is believed to have paid all staff entitlements.
The restaurant enjoyed excellent reviews of its southern Italian fare, prepared by Calabria-born Mr Ieracitano.
“What we do is different to most other Italian restaurants on the Coast because it’s southern Italian food,” Ms Lane told the Bulletin in 2017.
“The place Nino comes from was invaded lots of times so there’s a lot of herbs and spices you might think are Moroccan or North African.
“He makes his gnocchi and egg pasta from scratch. His bolognese he puts on first thing in morning and it’s left to simmer until the evening so it cooks eight to 10 hours – none of this two-minute stuff.”
Mr Ieracitano, 64, entered the hospitality industry aged 12 doing his apprenticeship at the legendary Savoy Hotel in London, where he met Aucklandborn Ms Lane, 56.
The Bulletin has contacted the pair for comment.
That Italian Place is the latest Gold Coast restaurant to fail in a slew of recent closures. Just this month, the company running Hog’s Breath at Coolangatta closed its doors while the Oporto at Surfers Paradise has gone into administration.
Mr Bookless said the number of restaurant insolvencies was probably far higher than reported as many restaurants had few or no assets or cash by the time they were faced with failure and had no way to fund a formal liquidation.
He said he’d had a “solid and consistent” number of inquiries from small hospitality businesses about their insolvency options, and encouraged all operators to make good use of their accountants to ensure they stayed on top of their finances before it was too late.
“Businesses should not just use their accountant to do their BAS once a year, but should call on them for advisory services so they can protect their business and protect themselves from fluctuations in the market,” Mr Bookless said. “They also need to ensure they are really across their financial position and keeping up-to-date and reliable records.”