Long Chim Doesn’t Want To Close on Friday, but It Has To

When Long Chim Sydney opened in late 2016, it was celebrated chef David Thompson’s homecoming. The “encyclopedic expert in Thai cuisine” – according to food writer Nicholas Jordan – moved into an Angel Place kitchen to serve his fine-dining take on Thai street food dishes. But final service has been called, with the Long Chim team calling out its landlords – and entering administration.

“We entered administration voluntarily about 11 weeks ago,” Long Chim COO Jacques Dejardin tells Broadsheet. “We were pretty straightforward with all of our creditors, but to exit administration, we needed support from the landlord … it’s been going on since June 2022, just fighting to get an abatement, a long-term restructured lease, or a new lease, anything. The business remains strong, but … it’s an eight-year lease. It’s been going up 3.5 per cent every year, and it’s now just under a million.”

Long Chim announced its closure on Instagram today. “To Abacus, our landlords at Martin Place: After eight years, you’ve turned your back on us - and on the 50 people who work here - just days before Christmas,” the statement reads. It also lists issues arising in the wake of Covid, including blocked entrances, limited accessibility for people living with disability, rent disputes and, reportedly, the landlord’s unwillingness to work together. “Access to our beautiful dining room has been through a disused old cafe for two years.”

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In May 2020, the Australian Financial Review reported on the top Thai restaurant’s financial situation, in a period characterised by an empty CBD and strict capacity limits. “There is just no scenario where we will bounce back,” Dejardin told the masthead. “I have no strategy. My strategy is to keep going until I run out of money or we make it.”

Today, the restaurant reports paying “nearly $1 million” in rent – a figure they believe is higher than market figures. Addressing Abacus on Instagram, Long Chim states: “You appointed external consultants to review our claim, and they confirmed that we were a good operator paying over-market rent, but this information was deemed unpalatable. We offered to take on a rolling 30-day contract, so you could see if a tenant could be found at a rental level that worked for you. You said no. We offered to reinvest in the space, to reinvigorate it once the scaffolding was removed. You said no.”

Perth’s Long Chim is still trading, but the build on the Gold Coast has been paused. “We have a really supportive landlord who’s waiting for me to find alternative funding options,” Dejardin tells Broadsheet.

The news joins a recent flurry of closures in Sydney, with Cafe Freda’s and the Nilands’ Petermen both calling their final service last week.

Despite the Long Chim team’s situation, there’s stock taken in what they’ve achieved – and it won’t be the end for our city. “It’s all about sites,” says Dejardin. “There’s a lot of vacant sites in Sydney at the moment, because there’s a lot of people that have been in the situation we are. It’s about waiting for the right site at the right time. I’d love to be back there in 2025 … we’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

Broadsheet has reached out to Abacus for comment.

Long Chim Sydney’s last service will be Friday December 20, 2024.