A popular restaurant and cocktail bar will close its doors after struggling with post-pandemic pressures plaguing the hospitality industry.
The Matriarch, a French-inspired venue touted as Brisbane‘s most glamorous cafe, announced on Monday that it will close for for the final time on Sunday.
The venue was opened in 2019 by business partners Jimmy Truong and Mathew Dewacht and navigated the pandemic thanks to its popular afternoon high teas.
However, news of the closure was announced in a post on the restaurant’s social media pages and detailed how it was not able to overcome skyrocketing costs.
‘The past five years have been an experience that we will never forget however, Covid needed a lot of fight and the current finical crisis is one fight too many,’ the post read.
A popular french-inspired restaurant and bar in Brisbane, The Matriarch (pictured), has decided to close its doors on Sunday
‘It is with a heavy heart that we have decided not to renew our lease and close our business.
’We thank you for your ongoing support and wish you all the best.’
Co-owner and chef, Mr Dewacht, said that while the business was not forced into closure, the current economic landscape made remaining open too difficult.
‘We just made the decision can we can’t mentally battle through basically another Covid, another economic crisis, this is the exactly same feeling as Covid,’ he told The Courier-Mail.
‘The exhaustion level, it’s not worth battling on again. [It’s better} to leave without being forced to like some other businesses who are going bankrupt.’
Mr Dewacht said a number of other business had fallen into bankruptcy because their customer bases had dried up when the economy started to tighten.
Despite navigating through the pandemic, the owners said the current economic strains plaguing the industry was too much to handle and its lease wouldn’t be renewed
Devastated customers shared their shock at the sudden closure in comments on the social media post.
‘This makes me so sad,’ one wrote, adding: ‘Thank you for such amazing service and hospitality.’
A second customer wrote: ‘You guys will certainly missed, thank you for providing an excellent experience.’
A third lamented that The Matriarch was ‘a one-off type place would be hard to beat’.
Another reminisced on their love for the venue’s high teas before asking if they were selling off their furniture.
The Matriarch is just the latest casualty of a tough trading environment for the hospitality industry in Australia. Recent closures include Gauge, in Melbourne, 13 years of business and beloved Sydney restaurant Tetsuya, after 37 years.