George Calombaris' Made Establishment Group Has Gone Into Voluntary Administration

Twelve fine-diners and casual eateries run by former MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris have closed their doors as his restaurant group Made Establishment goes into voluntary administration.

While Yo-Chi — the group's frozen yoghurt company — will continue trading as usual, seven Jimmy Grants, as well as Hotel Argentina, Gazi, Hellenic Republic Brighton and the newly opened Crofter Dining Room and Elektra have all "stopped trading immediately".

The move comes months after Calombaris' restaurants were rocked by wage scandals, with the company admitting employees were underpaid by $7.8 million. While hundreds of workers will be impacted by the closures, Made Establishment's newly appointed administrators, KordaMentha, said in a statement that "employees have been paid all outstanding wages and superannuation up to the date of the appointment".

According to KordaMentha, "declining trade across venues" and "difficult trading conditions in the hospitality industry...due to the expansion of the on-demand economy via services such as UberEats and Deliveroo" were also reasons for Made Establishment's voluntary administration.

Calombaris himself responded to the appointment and closures via a post on Instagram, in which he said "I truly regret it has come to this". "The last few months have been the most challenging I have ever faced," Calombaris said in the post. "At this time, while personally devastated, I remain thankful to my family, friends, the MADE team, our loyal and regular customers".

All 12 of Made Establishment's restaurants and eateries will remain closed while the administrators seek alternative operators for the venues.