Sports Cafe hunts for home

By CATHY ARONSON

Popular waterfront bar Leftfield remains closed this weekend after going into receivership last Friday, leaving the Sky show Lion Red Sports Cafe without a firm venue to film on Wednesday night.

The owners of the cafe and bar include Zinzan Brooke, John Kirwan and Ric Salizzo.

Despite the receivers' plan to trade out of trouble, clients were turned away last weekend after the receivers were locked out by the building's landlord, Princes Wharf developer David Henderson.

The receivers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, wanted to sell Leftfield as a going concern and were surprised to find the doors locked and a security guard in place last Saturday - a move Henderson said was prompted by being owed $11,000 for July's operating expenses.

He said it was not the first time he had been in dispute with the bar owners and claimed that Leftfield owed him about $200,000 in operating expenses.

The earlier dispute is likely to result in a court hearing next month.

Leftfield's operating board said the bar was placed in receivership a week ago after a downturn in the hospitality trade and unusually wet weather.

Although Sports Cafe filmed from the bar last Wednesday it was not known if the show would be able to return this week.

Sports Cafe producer Salizzo said the show had been filmed at the bar for three of its seven years on air.

It hoped to continue at Leftfield but there were other options.

"The show will go on regardless. We're quite prepared to do it in the middle of the street or in (co-host) Marc Ellis' bedroom if we have to."

Salizzo said rumours the show planned to move from the bar and that this had contributed to Leftfield's downfall were not true.

Leftfield's board said Sports Cafe and major sporting events pulled in patrons but not enough to be profitable.

The restaurant and hospitality industry says winter business is slow, but businesses are preparing for a predicted $60 million boom during the Louis Vuitton challenger series and the America's Cup.

Restaurant Association chief executive Neville Waldren said competition had increased and businesses had to be prepared for the winter downturn.