“Gut-Wrenching”: Top Hospo Names Respond to the State of the Industry (and Ask What We Can Do Now)

In the wake of the Sydney Morning Herald’s exposé on restaurant group Swillhouse, there’s been swift industry fallout, apologies, revoked awards and cancelled festivals. Safe Work NSW is investigating the allegations, too. But beyond all of this, there have been brave women who decided to put their name to their statements, plus venues and industry people speaking out in solidarity and remorse.

While conversations around the culture of our hospitality industry are deeply uncomfortable, it’s a vital conversation that’s long overdue. In the effort to maintain positive momentum, we’ve collated the responses across our hospitality scene – including thoughts on what we can do now.

Daisy Tulley, general manager at Mucho Group

“I, as general manager of Mucho, a mother and a woman, will not be silent," Tulley tells Broadsheet. “This last week has been horrible, but a much-needed wake up call for us all. I applaud the women that have spoken out. You are so brave, thank you. I hope the tide is finally turning.

“I have been making progress to create safer and happy workplaces for our teams, specifically through training, policies, supporting women in all roles, swift movements to protect victims and leading with empathy and morals. I still have work to do. I will continue to put in the work to help change the industry for the better. I hope my contribution will be part of a wider change across the industry.”

Pasan Wijesena, owner of Earl’s Juke Joint, The Magpie, Jacoby’s and The Trocadero Room

“I think our ultimate goal as leaders and mentors is to make sure the industry is in a better place than when we first started,” Wijesena posted. “This week’s SMH story was a public wake-up call that was needed to create dialogue amongst a wider audience than just the inner circles of this industry. This will help professionalise smaller independent operators, promote cultures based on consultation, kindness and mutual respect. A pledge to hold all to account, whilst also creating partnerships and pathways to better the industry I love and that has given me so much. It’s simple – zero tolerance for abuse.”

Mucho Group (Cantina Ok, Bar Planet, Centro 86, Tio’s, The Cliff Dive)

“Mucho will not be silent,” the post reads. “There is no place for sexual violence and predatory behaviours in society. We hope our contribution will be part of a wider change across the industry to create safer spaces for all hospitality workers and patrons.”

Alex Dowd, co-founder of Mucho Group

“The information in the news isn’t surprising,” Dowd tells Broadsheet. “We’re all watching it but we’re saying nothing. What example are we going to set? Our teams and community are looking to the men in our industry. But STILL we remain silent. Sexual assault, harassment and misogyny cannot be tolerated. We need to stop being cowards, stand up and call out abuse in any form. We need to protect victims. We have all been silent for too long.

“We can all do more. I can do more.

“We imitated what we saw from our role models and the world around us, even when people we loved were screaming that something was wrong. I’m sorry, embarrassed and ashamed. We’ve made changes, grown, but remained silent. It’s easy to – the system is designed to protect us.

“We blindly followed a broken system and missed a chance to make change. I’ll regret it forever. But it’s no-one else’s fault – we are all responsible for what we put out in the world. I don’t have the answers. But I know it’s time to make a change.”

Ross McQuinn (Pilot, Such & Such, Heaps Normal)

“I find it difficult to discuss serious issues on social media, as I’m never sure that I know enough or have anything productive to add to the conversation. However, the recent revelations in the Sydney Morning Herald have been written about an industry that I love, and one that I hope to be in for many years to come,” the co-owner of Canberra restaurants Pilot and Such & Such, and commercial manager of Heaps Normal, wrote on Instagram. “These articles have disgusted and appalled me, but sadly I’m not surprised. Every person I know in hospitality has a story that echoes these words, and I expect there is more to come. While it is not good that these horrible events have occurred, it is good that these women are stepping forward to help change the culture. I admire their courage. But change must also come from the top down, and we cannot allow anything of this ilk to fester. Hospitality should be caring, and friendly, and positive. Not this. As an industry, we must do better. As a male, and an employer, I must do better. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I promise to do my best.”

Jeremy Blackmore, creative director at Mucho Group

“I’ve been rocked by the news coming out,” Blackmore tells Broadsheet. “We came up in this culture of misogyny. We participated in the sexism at the heart of our industry. We were young men on the hunt for role models and we found the wrong ones. I’ll have to live with that. Hard conversations with some of the toughest women we know helped us to start to understand. It was immaturity but it was also cowardice. We’ve been well and truly humbled. We have an opportunity now to not pass these lessons on to the young people that come to work for us every day. We are on a journey but there is still lots of progress to make. I believe that we can make hospitality a positive life-affirming industry that is welcome to all, but that will take real work and more hard conversations. Maybe we can be the right role models that our teams deserve.”

Ennui, CBD

“We decided to open Ennui to be part of the positive change needed in the hospitality industry; so we could do better,” owners Thomas Bromwich, Samuel Woods and Peter Chan wrote. “We have the chance to create a safe workplace for our staff. We’ve set up Ennui with policies and a commitment to a culture of action, as well as conversation. With zero tolerance for abuse.

“We’re here because we love hospitality, we love working with good people and we have the chance to fight for a better industry. This is conversation – and action – that is long overdue. We’re proud of everyone who has spoken out and thank them for their bravery.”

Katie Shortland and Scott Gault, Rara Ramen

“We consider the welfare of all staff and customers as paramount to the experience at Rara,” the co-owners tell Broadsheet. “A safe working environment is a right. Hospo is a broad church of lifers and casuals and we like to celebrate that diversity whilst putting in solid protections so our team never feels threatened or uncomfortable by poor behaviour or abuse and feel confident to speak up. We have a duty of care to create this environment for all staff, especially our female, people of colour and non-binary team members who unfortunately suffer a higher amount of harassment and exploitation in society. We all deserve to feel safe at work.”

Idiot Savant Awards

In response to Nick Zavadszky’s opinion piece Our Hospitality Industry Suffers from a Silent Sickness, published on Broadsheet last week, the Idiot Savant Awards made a statement: “Idiot Savant is an independent bartender-run event that happens during Sydney Bar Week. We aim to bring together the industry in a lighthearted and relaxed way, providing an opportunity to shine a light on longstanding contributors, great bars, venues and the fun side of our industry. We run this during Sydney Bar Week so industry from around the country can participate. This year we relooked at the awards and the sentiment behind them, and also how focused it was on one state previously. With this in mind, we removed people’s names from award titles, removed awards including “Hottest Bar Team”, and worked with people in each state to ensure we engaged everyone. We want to ensure that everyone can enjoy and be safe at all times. We have made the decision to remove “Best Toilets”, understanding that abuse and drug use can occur in those spaces. We are also naming “Best Kookslam” to “Best CCTV”, wanting to ensure that people understand it’s about highlighting funny content rather than accidents caused by intoxication.”

Women and Revolution

The following is an abridged version of the statement the association made on Instagram last week: “We stand in solidarity for all people that have come forward with their stories, for being the catalysts for change. For those of you that have come forward, considering coming forward, or are holding space for people in your life affected; your bravery, your patience and your stoicism involved in that is of a value that is impossible to articulate.

“We stand in solidarity with you. We offer our unwavering respect and support. We demand a better industry for us all. We will do what we can to achieve this and to support those with the same mission.”

Nathaniel White (Goodwater, Please & Thanks)

In a considered and lengthy post to his Instagram, the Melbourne bar personality spoke with power to the state of the industry, and the lack of action historically. The following is an abridged version.

“Gut-wrenching stuff, but stories that everyone’s heard before, and for each you’ve read this week, there are countless others that can’t be shared due to a lack of evidence, a lack of energy, a lack of support or fear of hamstringing their career.

“I am sorry it’s taking so long to sort out, I feel ashamed it hasn’t happened yet ... I have the utmost respect for those who are speaking up and fighting for change … I also understand those that haven’t said anything … are scared or don’t have energy to do so. But if you’re on the fence and considering it, I reckon now is a pretty good time.

“I’m scared of saying the wrong thing, being called a ‘white knight’, repercussions for my team, [and] risking potential work for myself. I’m scared of saying something now and invalidating the fight by having someone call me out publicly for affecting someone in the past and not being self-aware … However, as a man, at this point saying something is literally the bare minimum.

“I’m sick of working with people to only find out there are women with stories about [them] … I’m sick of seeing people act surprised … Jenna [Hemsworth] has told her story before, she has been supremely let down repeatedly by the entire industry.

“It’s on men who have been complacent and cultivated cultures through laziness … to look internally, genuinely apologise and take action … It’s on men to call out other men at the smallest red flag … It’s on bar operators to set standards for themselves and venue … It’s on trade media to ensure they are giving voices to and lifting the right people … It is on EVERYONE to do due diligence before hiring or working with any other party or individual.

“The pursuit of a safe industry to work for all should be everyone’s number one priority. If we all put a tenth of an effort into figuring out the answers as we do into something as fundamentally inconsequential as drinks, what could we get done?”

If you’ve been the victim of sexual harassment in a hospitality workplace or witnessed an incident, read activist Jamie Bucirde’s advice on navigating the situation.

If you would like to speak with someone about an experience you have had, or would like more information, please call 1800Respect on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800respect.org.au.

You can also alert Broadsheet to misbehaviour of any kind in the hospitality industry via report@broadsheet.com.au. We cannot act on specific tips, but your valuable information may inform future coverage.