Overview
So you might remember that the Keystone Group — the sprawling empire behind Australia's Jamie's Italian restaurants, Sydney's The Winery, Gazebo, Manly Wine, Cargo Bar, Bungalow 8, alongside multi-city venues Kingsley's and Chophouse — got into a real jam recently after being unable to settle on their financial structure with lenders of their multi (multiiii) million dollar hospitality empire and went into receivership. Then, earlier this week, Melbourne-based Dixon Hospitality swooped in and bought up a bunch of their properties. Well, even if you don't (it can be hard to keep up with the wheelings and dealings of hospo hotshots), that's about where we were all up to.
But in the latest twist in the story, Jamie's Italian (which was one of the venues not saved by Dixon), has been bought by the man himself: Jamie Oliver. Yep, he has bought back his own restaurant chain, which includes six restaurants across Australia, including Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Parramatta. He'll manage the Australian venues under his Jamie Oliver Group, which are, despite the receivership, reportedly going quite well.
So, it's okay everyone: Jamie's back to set it all right and cook us a nice, creamy pasta.