The future of the iconic Le Sands Restaurant in Brighton-Le-Sands remains uncertain after Bayside Council terminated its lease, forcing the landmark venue to close after 45 years of operation.
Owned by Peter and Elizabeth Antonopoulos, the restaurant shut earlier this month. The Greek Herald understands the closure followed alleged non-payment of rent linked to a long-running dispute with Council over repairs and maintenance responsibilities.
Speaking to A Current Affair on Monday night, Elizabeth described the shutdown as a devastating blow to their family business.
“Financially, it’s destroyed us,” she said on the TV program.
A Sydney institution brought to a halt
Since opening in 1980, Le Sands has been one of Sydney’s most recognisable waterfront dining venues, welcoming Prime Ministers such as Gough Whitlam, Paul Keating and Anthony Albanese, and international guests including football legend Diego Maradona.
According to a letter posted on the restaurant’s door on March 1 this year, the family had invested “a minimum of $8 million” into the building over the decades, while paying nearly $800,000 per year in rent and covering all outgoings themselves.
Serious maintenance issues alleged
The Antonopoulos family maintains the closure stems from serious structural and operational issues that they say Bayside Council failed to address.
Elizabeth recalled the moment her husband discovered their kitchen unusable due to contamination from above.
“[He] went down to the restaurant. He walked into the kitchen, and the kitchen floor was flooded with fat and water,” she said.
She claims the Council removed the bar ceiling, leaving “exposed wires,” and did not adequately repair roof leaks that caused mold and water damage.
“There was water damage from where the ceiling collapsed, but they hid that from us. And the thing is, they still expected us to pay the rent,” she said.
Elizabeth said this made it impossible to operate the business safely. “You tell me I’ve got to pay rent in a restaurant that I can’t actually operate…”
Financial and personal toll
Elizabeth said the closure has placed enormous financial strain on the family, including the sale of their home, and described the emotional toll of seeing their decades-long work brought to an end.
The family has signalled they will seek compensation, calling for what Elizabeth described as a “fair go.”
Bayside Council has confirmed only that, with the lease now ended, repair works on the building are underway. It has not issued any further comment on the dispute.
