Saturday 26 November 2022 08:47 AM Bel & Brio closure, Barangaroo: Sad twist in downfall of harbourside restaurant trends now
Former staff at a once thriving Sydney restaurant have lashed out at the owner over alleged pay disputes - as their hopes of ever getting any money back are likely dashed forever with its parent company going into liquidation.
Bel & Brio, at Barangaroo in the city's CBD, along with its fine dining venue Corso Brio was once making $90,000 a day, drawing in countless customers for its 'eco-elegance and a luxuriously captivating ambience'.
The Italian restaurant had been a popular dining spot in the area since its launch in 2016 but was forced to close this month owing $1.8million to Lendlease in unpaid rent.
Now ex-employees at the restaurant have said it was no surprise the business went under, laying the blame at the feet of its 38-year-old director Mark Richerdson.
Mark Richerdson is the owner of Bel & Brio, an Italian restaurant in Sydney's CBD that was recently shut because it owed $1.8million in unpaid rent
Three ex-employees at the high-end venue spoke to Daily Mail Australia and claimed they waited months to be reimbursed after being put on the minimum wage during Covid.
But in a sad development on Thursday, it's likely those workers will be waiting an indefinite amount of time after they were informed Bel & Brio's parent company The Basket Group was appointing liquidators.
'It saddens me from the bottom of my heart ... that Basket Group has gone into liquidation,' an email from the company's accounts administrator read.
'You will need to contact [the liquidator] to claim your unpaid wages and entitlements.'
One former worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia they were at the business for six years before leaving in March this year and said the email left him with no hope he'd get paid.
'This means that there is now even less of a chance for employees getting paid what they are owed,' he said.
The email sent to former staff this week after the parent company went into liquidation
When Covid hit the business in 2020, staff claim Mr Richerdson told his workers they could stay on and work but only at the minimum wage of $350 a week.
An email to staff, seen by this publication, confirmed Mr Richerdson told workers they would be backpaid once the business had gotten back on its feet.
Staff claim that because most were on working visas, they didn't have a choice but to stay and work in order to remain in Australia.
The business shut during Covid but offered delivery and takeaway meals, with staff working on the minimum wage for four months.
'Covid passed and by Christmas 2020 everything went back to normal and the business was getting 1,000 bookings a day and $90,000 in revenue,' the staff member told Daily Mail Australia.
'The hours were crazy, I used to open the restaurant at 9am and get home at 1am.'
Bel & Brio, in Barangaroo, along with its fine dining venue Corso Brio was once making $90,000 a day, drawing in countless customers for its 'eco-elegance and a luxuriously captivating ambience'
But the former worker claimed despite Bel & Brio quickly recovering from the Covid lockdown, staff were still not getting paid what they were entitled to.
Mr Richerdson had promised in an email to pay staff the difference of their salary and what they were earning during the lockdown.
But after months of not hearing back, the ex-employee said it wasn't until he made a scathing comment on the business' Facebook page that he received the money he was owed - months after he quit and years after the first Covid lockdown.
He also claimed the tips weren't adequately handed out and that it would take months for them to be evenly distributed.
'We were always stressed about getting paid, it was supposed to be fortnightly but sometimes it was delayed by days or weeks,' he said.
He claimed after he resigned he tried to contact Mr Richerdson to get the money he was owed back, but was repeatedly ignored.
The staff member said he always 'felt anxious' during his time at the restaurant, and claimed he and his colleagues were constantly chasing up their pay.
The restaurant offered delivery and takeaway meals during the Covid lockdowns, with staff working on the minimum wage
'I wanted to believe him but I knew how he worked with people, he makes you believe everything,' he said.
Another staff member, who also asked not to be named, worked at the business for four years when he was suddenly stood down without being given any reason as to why.
He claimed he is owed about $120,000 in unpaid wages and superannuation, with the former
