One of Sydney’s best-known hospitality empires has crumbled under debt, with three companies linked to operator Jared Merlino collapsing into liquidation. Creditors are owed more than $2.4 million, and several well-known venues have been forced to close.
Jared Merlino’s companies were responsible for Italian restaurant Bartolo and New York-style cocktail bar Kittyhawk, both of which have shut their doors. Darlinghurst eatery Big Poppa’s is temporarily closed.
Hospitality and labour hire companies linked to Sydney venues Kittyhawk and Big Poppa’s owed creditors more than $2.2 million when they collapsed into liquidation. Barrel Barons, which operated Kittyhawk, entered voluntary liquidation in May owing almost $1.8 million, while labour hire company Barrel Barons Cash Money was placed into liquidation in February.
According to ASIC reports lodged by liquidator Nicarson Natkunarajah of Rogers Reidy, creditors of Barrel Barons Cash Money are owed $499,842, including $426,009 to the Australian Taxation Office and $36,917 to employees. Creditors of Barrel Barons are claiming a further $1.77 million, including $1.65 million owed to related parties.
Mr Natkunarajah told The Daily Telegraph the companies may have traded while insolvent, citing undercapitalisation, weak financial controls, poor record keeping, inadequate debt collection and cash flow problems as factors behind their collapse.
A separate company behind Surry Hills restaurant Bartolo entered liquidation in January 2024 owing about $117,000, including $38,577 to the tax office. The liquidator reported the company may also have traded while insolvent and said it ultimately failed because it could not keep pace with tax liabilities and operating costs.
Mr Merlino's lawyer, Michael Mournehis, rejected suggestions his client had traded insolvent companies. “To date, no action has been brought by the liquidator against Mr Merlino for insolvent trading,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The liquidation of Bartolo occurred following the effect of Covid-19 on the hospitality industry, which is well documented. Mr Merlino spent countless hours attempting to ensure that the business could continue to operate and only chose liquidation when it was evidently clear that trading conditions were too dire. Such steps are in fact, in line with the requirement for a director to place a company into liquidation, where it is likely in future to become insolvent.”
Mr Mournehis said employee entitlements owed by Barrel Barons Cash Money had been assumed by The Lobo, with affected staff transferred to the venue. The Lobo is a popular bar in the Sydney CBD on Clarence Street that is still operating.
Big Poppa Enterprises was also the subject of a Supreme Court wind-up application brought by fellow director and equal shareholder Davidson Hanna. The application was dismissed in February, allowing the company to continue operating. Mr Mournehis described the matter as “a private dispute which ultimately has had no effect on the entity, given that the wind-up application was withdrawn.”
Big Poppa’s is currently listed as temporarily closed, with Mr Mournehis saying the venue has been undergoing landlord-led redevelopment since 2024. “Big Poppa’s is expected to reopen for business in 2026 and cannot reopen until an occupation certificate has been obtained by the landlord,” he said.
Kittyhawk, which opened in Sydney’s CBD in 2016, had become a popular destination for events and functions. Mr Merlino's lawyer and liquidator Nicarson Natkunarajah have been contacted for further comment.
