Former Jamie's Italian site to be reborn as Greek restaurant M.I.M by 1821

The Pitt Street site where British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's eponymous restaurant sank like a fallen souffle is set to be reborn. Good Food can reveal it'll join Sydney's Greek restaurant march.

M.I.M by 1821 is a co-production between the families of restaurateurs Jim Kospetas (The Civic, 1821) and Steve Anastasiou (China Doll, China Lane), only it'll be the "young blood" of the next generation who'll drive the restaurant.

M.I.M, an acronym for Made in Mykonos, has leased one of the more notorious sites in the Sydney CBD, a location that acted as a barometer for the rise and fall of Jamie's Italian in Australia.

An early success, the celebrity eatery later survived the executioner when Jamie Oliver Group bought back the chain in 2016 after its local operator, Keystone Group, went into receivership. When Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group (Australia) Pty Ltd collapsed in 2018, Brisbane-based Hallmark Group was the white knight. COVID-19 proved the death-knell, with the troubled restaurant in liquidation again.

"We think it's a great spot, and while they are looking at redeveloping the building we have at least 12 months [on the lease] guaranteed. But it could be years," says Kospetas, who has been on a buying spree, with his family company snapping up the Newtown Hotel and Tempe Hotel.

"We want to bring the life, the energy, the food of Mykonos."

M.I.M by 1821 will open on July 1.