Another Hog’s Breath Cafe franchise has entered administration, extending a worrying trend that has seen nearly half of restaurants close in the past decade.
The Hog’s Breath Cafe in Mildura, north-west Victoria, declared bankruptcy on 20 September, two years after after changing owners.
Mark Brereton of HoganSprowles has been appointed administrator and the company’s first creditors meeting has been set for 3 October.
Administration is different from liquidation as it allows the company to continue operating while prioritising the repayment of money to creditors.
The latest setback follows the liquidation of three Hog’s Breath franchisees in Tuggerah, Orange and Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, last year.
It is understood the Central Coast location struggled to regain momentum following pressure from Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in 2020 and 2021.
Just seven years ago, Hog’s Breath Café had 80 locations, however, by 2021 the number of stores had dwindled to just 47 remaining locations and now only 26 remain.
Hog’s Breath Cafe Mildura (pictured) in north-west Victoria has been embroiled in a management crisis.
The restaurant chain has been forced to close almost half of its locations in the last decade
In 2019 alone, around a dozen stores were forced to close after their owners declared bankruptcy or lost valuable assets.
At the time, former Hog’s Breath Cafe CEO Ross Worth said the company was facing its “most challenging environment we’ve seen in 30 years.”
“In addition to a decline in spending, consumers have also significantly changed their eating and shopping habits with the advent of food delivery services and the increasing prevalence of meal kits,” Worth said.
“We are also experiencing increases in operating costs with rising wages, raw food costs, rent and electricity.”
The iconic Australian restaurant chain has seen its stores across the country close permanently after facing financial pressures following the Covid-19 pandemic (Hog’s Breath Cafe in Logan)
The imposition of Covid lockdowns precipitated the closure of venues in Palmerston, Carindale, Albury, Forster and Canberra Civic between December 2020 and February 2021.
The seven locations still operating in Victoria are located in Mildura and Traralgon.
In NSW, Hog’s Breath customers can find stores in St Marys, Wagga Wagga, Penrith, Port Macquarie and Nelson Bay.
Across Australia, only 26 stores remain in operation. More than half are located in Queensland, with the remainder spread across Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.
Despite many successive closures, CEO Steven Spurgin announced a plan last year to rejuvenate the brand.
The new restaurants will be designed on a smaller floor plan to reduce rents and electricity bills and ensure that the restaurants are adequately staffed.
In the rendered images of the new restaurants, customers are seated at long metal and wood tables with modern, light-colored furniture.
The new restaurants will be designed on a smaller floor plan to reduce the cost of rent, gas and electricity and ensure that the restaurants are adequately staffed (photo, rendered plans)
In the rendered images of the new restaurants, customers are seated at long metal and wood tables with modern, light-coloured furniture (pictured)
A smaller location would save costs but also provide a more intimate dining experience, which is now preferred by most customers, said the chief executive of Hog’s Breath Cafe.
Mr Spurgin said this was in line with a global trend of staff reductions due to staffing pressures, but would also create a more intimate dining experience, which was now preferred by most customers.
“The changes being implemented, including a new restaurant size and interior design, will ensure the sustainability of the franchisees and the brand,” he said.
‘We have many successful restaurants and satisfied franchisees and we are very confident in the future expansion of the brand under new management, with our new interior design and restaurant size, and in our continued regeneration in a post-Covid world.’
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