Jamie's Italian on Pitt Street shuts for good

Restaurateurs are circling the Pitt Street digs of Jamie's Italian, a restaurant that might just hold a Sydney record for having been read its last rites.

The celebrity eatery first 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.

Haniel Rathod, from SV Partners, who is looking after the Sydney leg of the fallen Jamie's souffle, confirmed the prime Pitt Street site will be back in the hands of the landlord once Hallmark (Sydney)-owned assets inside it are dealt with.

SV Partners' report for the Sydney eatery makes for sobering reading. The restaurant had just $6749 in its bank accounts when it closed. Unsecured creditors were in the red for $222,599, as well as $61,073 in employee entitlements.

With cash flow issues and COVID-19 listed as the reasons for its failure, suppliers and staff appear the big losers. Its closure adds to the list of celebrity food brands to crash in Australia, but at least one local operator has expressed interest to Good Food in taking the site.