Eighty Eight Seafood and Grill, a popular restaurant in South Australia’s Old Noarlunga, has closed permanently due to rising business costs, including skyrocketing fish prices, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Owner Bill Moularas, 37, cited these financial pressures as the reason for the closure.
“It’s heart-wrenching. Recovering from Covid was hard but the last three years has been harder and harder … costs have only gone up and profit margins are shrinking,” Moularas said.
“We ran the numbers and the restaurant had to be full every night just to break even. This has been on the cards for a while … it’s just been mentally draining.”
Moularas noted that the price of fish has surged by more than 60% over the past five years, with salmon now costing $65/kg, flathead $70/kg, and kingfish more than $80/kg.
He added, “People have less money to spend now, and all business costs are rising, everything from insurance to wages, power, and rent.”
Eighty Eight Seafood and Grill opened in September 2019 as a sister restaurant to Seafood Chest, a fresh seafood store that has been in operation since 2007.
While the restaurant has closed, Seafood Chest will continue to operate.
Moularas highlighted the ongoing crisis in the hospitality industry, with many long-standing venues shutting down due to financial struggles.
“People are just starting to realise it now. Places that have been around for 20-30 years are closing because they can’t make any money,” he said.
He urged customers to support their local businesses, stressing the difficulty of running a small business today.
“There’s a lot of hospo people out there struggling… People need to back in their favourite corner store or it won’t be around anymore, and you’ll be kicking yourself,” Moularas warned.
Source: The Advertiser.
