Margo Closes in Paddington

Margo Restaurant and Bar has ceased trading. Chef and co-owner Americo Fernandes took to Facebook yesterday to announce the closure.

“It is with great regret that we at Margo Restaurant & Bar have had to close our doors,” the statement on the Paddington restaurant’s page read. “It was not an easy decision. Thank you all for your support and patronage during our time. We really appreciate it. Chef Americo and team.”

The post comes a week and a half after the restaurant’s last service on Saturday May 19. Fernandes told Broadsheet earlier this evening that while Margo was doing good business on the weekends, limited trade through the week cut into its bottom line.

“Just not enough customers,” he says. “I think it was the wrong time. Not enough advertising and small bits like that. [And then we] had the series of long weekends — there was a bit of an issue with all that stuff. I had a fair bit of money [invested in the business] but we had a few business partners and some of them didn’t want to put more money into it so it was better to shut down.”

The news comes just six months after Fernandes opened his European bistro in the former premises of Montrachet on Given Terrace. The restaurant’s cuisine was based on Fernandes’s French-cooking skills, but with a menu wide ranging in its influences.

Fernandes says moving into Montrachet’s old haunt didn’t make it easier for Margo to drum up its own customer base. “A lot of people were still going there [to Montrachet’s new restaurant in Bowen Hills] instead of trying us,” he says. “Coming straight after that big name, people are a little more hesitant to try.”

“[Brisbane is] hard,” he says, talking about the wider food and drink scene in the Queensland capital. “With all the new buildings, you have restaurants opening everywhere … Due to the economy, people don’t have that much money. They prefer to spend $15 for an easy fix. That’s the mentality.”

The final straw was the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “There was no one on the street that day … we made the decision [to close] that Saturday. I said to the crew, ‘Sorry guys.’ We were all very sad. But we’ll stay in contact. We were a good crew.

“For me, [Margo] was like going into France every morning; being brought back to Paris every morning.”

Fernandes is focusing on catering for the foreseeable future, with the intention to set up his own company. “If it works well I might open a tiny restaurant,” he says.