JD’s Sports Bar owners have blamed a catch-22 between their landlord and insurer for their shock closure this week.
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The Lydiard Street bar has been shut since September after a fire gutted the building, with a full refit expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
JD’s Sports Bar has passed through the hands of some of the biggest names in Ballarat hospitality.
Former co-owner Jason Yean, now publican at The Park Hotel, handed the baton to the Faustini brothers in 2013.
Under Mr Yean, the bar was recognised as the best sporting entertainment venue in the state two years in a row by the Australian Hotels Association.
The bar also weathered a period of violent discord on Lydiard Street, which resulted in a heavy investment by City of Ballarat in CCTV cameras in the late-night entertainment precinct.
The Faustinis, whose parents have run Eureka Pizza on Sturt Street for over 40 years, made the decision to close the venue on Thursday.
A post announcing the closure was put on the bar’s Facebook page the same day.
The post cited City of Ballarat’s decision to refuse the bar’s application to extend trading hours, without which “we're pretty sure this wouldn't have happened”, it read.
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Co-owner Leon Faustini said failed negotiations between their insurer and landlord had forced the bar to close.
“What actually led to the bar closing was we were stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Mr Faustini said.
“The fire itself occurred at the worst possible time because our lease for the premises was due to expire in February this year.
“So the insurance company wanted a new lease in place before they would authorise the repair work and the landlord said ‘we’re not renewing the lease until the building is repaired’.”
Mr Faustini said the decision to close had brought mixed feelings.
“It’s bad in that JD’s is going and really wanted to make that work but it’s good in that we finally have a resolution.”
The owners will now work with the insurer to prepare the building for a new tenant.
The repairs will stop short of returning the premises to their former purpose, Mr Faustini said.
“We have to bring it up to a state where it’s habitable, that’s basically putting in lights, making sure the floor and all that is working and properly repaired.
“There’ll be no bar, no benches, it’ll just be an empty shell.”
Mr Faustini also criticised council’s decision to amend the motion regarding JD’s application to extend trading hours from 3am to 5am.