Image: CREAM
In a shocking announcement overnight, hospitality mogul Josh Rivers has announced the closure of his four restaurants after opening a new venue only three weeks ago.
Josh opened his first cafe, CREAM, ten years ago, back in 2015. Ever since CREAM has been a cult classic venue in beachside Brighton and a favourite among locals. Josh then went on to open a string of venues, including Diamond Burger, Remy’s – Deep Dish Pizza & Bar, Landoughs, and earlier this month, Girl Next Door.
But now, Josh has announced to social media that all of his restaurants will be closing effective immediately.
Josh announced the news in a statement shared on Facebook. Read it below:
“Hello everyone. It’s me, Joshua Rivers – with sad news.
It is with a very heavy heart that I announce the end of my company including all restaurants; Girl Next Door, Diamond Burger, Remy’s – Deep Dish Pizza & Bar, and CREAM and all four sites are closed effective immediately. I would have love to have one last hurrah but unfortunately that’s now how these things go.
I don’t want my company, especially my baby CREAM, to be another number in the recession’s statistics, so I’m going to open up and give some insight as to what happened. I’m not going to air my dirty laundry because I think that’s poor form, but I do want you to know that CREAM’s brand and the other sites were all strong enough to survive this hard period – and because of that I do have to give you some personal details.
When I opened CREAM I was 24. I barely had hair on my chest and didn’t know what rest was. I had won multiple awards within hospitality and had a fair brand for myself, so when CREAM opened it was pretty much an overnight success. I stuffed the stat sheet in terms if front of house talent, but I greatly lacked administration skills and I found myself in financial trouble around year 2 purely from not keeping my eye on the books and trusting it to someone else. At that point I turned to help from a family member to save me.
That family member was great with numbers and developed a plan I needed to follow to dig CREAM out of the trouble it had gotten itself into. I worked 80hr weeks and took a $300 pay cheque home for around 4-5 months and eventually got the café back on track. At this point I could have hired a bookkeeper or learnt the books myself – but I foolishly gifted half of my company for $0 to the aforementioned family member, which many people advised me not to do. I did it because I loved this person, this person was a piece of who I was, and most importantly I thought I was doing the right thing.
Lots happened between that point and now – and that’s the dirty laundry I won’t air. But the turning point for the company was my wedding, where that family member wouldn’t come to the most important day of my life because I had invited someone they didn’t like. From there they forced their way out of the company for an eye watering amount, and not just an arbitrary amount but a calculated figure equating to my entire profit margin + operating costs. The amount would essentially gut the company on their way out, while they walked away with a massive pay day after being gifted their half for $0 – but at that point I would have cut off my arm to get away from that person, so I signed the papers.
I created new businesses to counter the loan repayments and keep my dream alive, which worked for the last 2 years until the recession ate up those profits and my decade old company just couldn’t keep up with the financial pressure placed upon it. So while the recession was an aspect to the closure, it certainly wasn’t the catalyst. If I never had to take that loan out, my company would have survived the worst of the next decade with our eyes closed. But alas, that’s just not how my story ends unfortunately.
To the 300 odd staff that have worked for me; thank you. I will ALWAYS be an advocate for how special staff are to a venue. Without all of your input, no matter how small it may have been, I couldn’t have done this without you. You are all special, you all have the brightness shining within you, you can all do whatever you set your mind to, and I will always be here for you.
To the hundreds of thousands of customers who have eaten my wild creations and drunk millions of litres of my coffee, thank you so much for your patronage and ongoing support. It is incredibly rewarding knowing people loved what I put out for a decade.
And finally; the regulars at CREAM. The community that formed at CREAM was bizarre, that’s the best word I can use to describe it. In my 22yrs in hospitality I’ve never experienced such a strong and welcoming bunch of regulars. From folks who met and got married, to people who became best friends, and even to saying goodbye to gentle souls who passed on to the next life – the CREAM regulars have ticked every single box. I am forever grateful you allowed me to be a part of your story, something I will always cherish and look back on and tell my children tales of.
Please don’t feel sorry for me. This is business, and business is full of risks. And I had plenty of people telling me not to let the fox into the chicken coup – but I let my heart make that decision instead of my head. A hard lesson I have now learnt.
And besides, my second son was born two days ago so while this is extremely painful I am experiencing the ultimate high on the flip side. Mumma and baby are both doing great.
With an endless amount of love,
Joshua Rivers.
P.s: I will be looking for a job to keep the roof over my family’s head and my resume is quite extensive, so if anyone is looking for someone with my skillset please reach out, but for now I am going to take time and enjoy my peace with my family.”
Over the years, Josh hasn’t been afraid to share his thoughts on the industry and the struggles that come with it. On February 24th, he posted online, saying, “My advice to everyone is to consolidate as much as you can if you want to survive the next 5-10 years. Shrink shrink shrink. And do it quickly.”
It’s always sad to see another SA-owned business announce a closure, and while this is the latest in a string of restaurant closures and a hit to the local hospitality industry, new venues that are combating the challenges in today’s economic climate continue to open.
We’ve got a guide to new restaurants that opened over the summer, so if you’re keen to get out and support local, find out more here.
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