Madame Rogue Bar+Bistro has announced its closed its doors for good after completing their last service on Saturday 21 July.
The Fortitude Valley restaurant had been operating since 2016, with owner Mary Randles putting the restaurant on the market in January.
“We would like to advise all our customers that sadly that we will not be renewing our lease at Madame Rouge Bar and Bistro,” Randles said in a statement.
“We are proud of what we achieved at Madame Rouge. We would like to say a big thank [you] to our staff who worked tirelessly beside us to bring the vision for Madame Rouge to life. Without the support and contribution of our loyal customers, staff and suppliers, we could not have achieved what we achieved at Madame Rouge.”
Randles will instead focus on her other restaurant, E’cco bistro in Newstead, which she reopened with her husband earlier in the year.
“I’m exhausted and older than I thought I was,” Randles told Broadsheet. “Trying to spread myself between there and E’cco, I had to have a reality check when it came time to lock myself in for another lease term.”
Although the restaurant was doing well, weekday trade was understandably a challenge for the venue.
“We were doing 150 [customers] on a Friday and Saturday night,” says Randles. “Then Tuesday and Wednesday you have the same team looking after 40 [people].
“It’s hard to manage because when you’re doing that level of service, you can’t work with casuals or cooks, you need good chefs and they’re all salary people. In Sydney or Melbourne you’d be full every lunch and dinner. It doesn’t happen in Brisbane – people are very much a weekend crowd.”
With her full focus now on E’cco Bistro, Randles has confirmed they have some “exciting new additions” planned for September.
Image credit: Courier Mail