George Calombaris’ stint as creative partner at popular Sydney Greek restaurant Alpha has come to an end after only five months.
Calombaris first took over the reigns at Alpha from founding chef Peter Conistis in March 2024, just a few months after operations at the Greek restaurant were taken over by Jon Adgemis’ embattled Public Hospitality Group (PHG).
This takeover came despite PHG being weighed down by $500 million debt at the time. Adgemis’ project started to fray after he took on hundreds of millions in debt at high interest rates from a variety of lenders just before financing costs rose.
Some lenders started trying to sell off his properties, staff were left out of pocket, and suppliers were unpaid. The Australian Taxation Office also visited the pub group’s offices in early May 2024.
Adgemis later struck a $400 million refinancing deal with Deutsche Bank, Gemi Investments, Archibald Capital and Muzinich & Co, to save his PHG from collapse.
In June this year, operations at the Hellenic Club of Sydney’s Alpha restaurant and Beta Events were taken over by Con Dedes of Dedes Waterfront Group after PHG made a swift exit.
Dedes told The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, July 15 that Calombaris’ dishes will now disappear from the menu in coming weeks. He said Calombaris “lightened up the menu” at Alpha and they would follow in that direction, but they “agreed mutually not to join forces.”
Instead, Dedes is backing Alpha’s new head chef Alessandro Mandelli, who has worked under both Calombaris and Conistis.
Calombaris, who is currently in Greece, told the SMH that Dedes is a brilliant operator, but the new situation “just didn’t match.”
“I love Sydney, and I loved my time at Alpha,” Calombaris said. “But I feel like I’ve been teased. I wouldn’t say I was upset, I was saddened [that the Alpha stint was brief]. But it did open up other opportunities. Sydney is definitely on my agenda.”
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
