City Winery Pty Ltd entered voluntary administration on Tuesday, triggering the immediate closure of its City Winery venues in Fortitude Valley and the CBD, and its Ardo’s wine bars in Newstead, Graceville, Hawthorne and Milton.
In a statement sent to media yesterday, City Winery director and CEO Dave Cush said he was “heartbroken” to have to close the venues, and blamed Australia’s current cost-of-living pressures, along with the historical effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns.
The closed City Winery in Fortitude Valley.Credit: Matt Shea
“The recent opening of The Star at Queen’s Wharf was the proverbial final nail – we simply cannot compete with an operation of that scale,” Cush said.
Cush also thanked staff, customers and suppliers, and apologised to creditors, who will be contacted by liquidators in due course.
City Winery opened on Wandoo Street in 2019. Just the third urban winery in Australia after Sydney’s Urban Winery and Melbourne’s Noisy Ritual, it was followed by smaller outlets on Edward Street and Eagle Street Pier (the latter of which closed in 2022 with that precinct’s demolition).
The first Ardo’s wine bar was opened in Newstead in early 2023, followed by outlets in Graceville, Hawthorn and Milton.