Award-winning pastry chef Pierrick Boyer has been forced to place his recently opened melbourne cafe into voluntary administration, blaming adjacent construction work for the downfall of his business.
Boyer was named pastry chef of the year by Gault & Millau Australia last year, but since then his fortunes have taken a turn for the worse.
He’s now out several hundred thousand dollars after placing his namesake business, Pierrick Boyer Cafe Patisserie, into voluntary administration last Friday.
The business, opened only four months ago, is a victim of what Boyer says is a lack of consultation with business owners about construction work in Melbourne’s south-east.
Speaking to SmartCompany, Boyer explains the Cato Square works being undertaken by the city of Stonnington stifled his business, restricting parking for customers and reducing the visibility of his cafe.
“They don’t really care,” he tells SmartCompany.
“Work needs to be done, I understand, but the communication … how can you operate in such a difficult situation?”
Boyer claims in some cases he received only one week notice ahead of road closures along his street during the construction work, while customers complained disrupted parking made his…
