Restaurateur and chef Scott Pickett has announced he will close his Northcote restaurant Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP) to make way for Estelle Bistro, which will expand into the dining space.
ESP’s last service will be on Saturday 18 August.
“ESP was a bit of a stepping stone to Matilda, it’s a beautiful restaurant and we’re all incredibly proud of what we have created and been delivering there,” says Pickett.
“With the recent launch of Matilda and continued success of Estelle Bistro, it makes sense to refocus and align our two Northcote restaurants into one, that locals can continue to love and
support,” Pickett said.
The ESP team will be offered roles within Pickett’s four other hospitality outlets; Estelle Bistro, Saint Crispin, Matilda 159 Domain and Pickett’s Deli.
Scott Pickett will be speaking at the upcoming Restaurant Leaders Summit on Monday 30 July at the Park Hyatt Hotel.
Pickett will join the staffing panel, where he will discuss attracting, retaining and recruiting staff members.
“Finding good staff is really difficult,” he tells Hospitality. “You really have to search for great staff, and unfortunately in this industry, there are so many jobs around that once you attract good ones, you really need to work at keeping them interested in their jobs and mentoring them to provide new challenges.”
Click here to buy tickets to the event.
Other speakers include Chris Lucas, Melissa Leong, Michael Madrusan, Carlo Grossi, Frank Camorra, Hannah Green, Fiona Perkins, Thi Le and Peter Gunn.
The summit will host more than 30 industry leaders who will cover issues including diversifying your offering, mental health and wellbeing, future trends for 2019 and old-school operators vs millennials.