Doughnut Time Is Back From The Dead Following That Massive Wage Scandal
"As the new owners, we think what happened to past employees is unacceptable."
Months after the company went into liquidation amidst accusation of dodgy business practices and failing to pay its workers, popular doughnut franchise Doughnut Time has been resurrected under new ownership.
The announcement came on Wednesday through the chain’s Facebook page, which has been inactive since March — around the same time that Doughnut Time founder Damien Griffith’s hospitality empire went belly up.
“We’re coming back and we’re bigger and better than ever!” read the announcement. “Your favourite sweet treats will be returning to Aussie shelves once again… Follow us for flavour updates and exciting new store openings.”
Former employees of Doughnut Time have accused the company of failing to pay wages and superannuation. “We were always chasing [pay], wondering what was happening,” one employee told Junkee at the time of the business’ collapse.
In a comment beneath the Facebook post announcing their resurrection, the company confirmed it was “under completely new ownership and management”.
“As the new owners, we think what happened to past employees is unacceptable,” it read. “We encourage any previous workers who have not yet done so to reclaim unpaid wages by contacting the Department of Jobs and Small Business. We believe many Australians missed Doughnut Time and when we saw it was up for sale, we jumped at the opportunity to bring it back.”
The new Doughnut Time is being headed by Queensland entrepreneur Peter Andros, who said in a media release sent to Broadsheet that he wanted “to save a great Brisbane-born brand”.
“It’s no secret that the previous owners expanded too quickly,” read the statement. “Nobody from the previous ownership is involved with our relaunch of Doughnut Time, and our team plans to adopt a ‘start small’ approach to operations.”
Andros apparently intends to open eight stores in the next two months, with locations at the Myer Centre and South Bank in Brisbane, Degraves Street and Fitzroy in Melbourne, and Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast confirmed so far.
Here’s hoping it goes better than last time.
—
Feature image via Doughnut Time/Facebook