Carlton’s Olive Jar reopens after rent dispute

Words by Sophie Raynor 

The longstanding Rathdowne St restaurant closed temporarily over a rent dispute during Melbourne’s most recent lockdown has reopened, despite ongoing tension between its owner and the building’s landlord after the end of coronavirus relief payments.

The Olive Jar paused trading unexpectedly for a week in early June, with the words “for lease” and “pay rent and live happy” appearing in white paint on the building’s exterior.

But restaurateur Giovanni Mico said his rent was paid despite not receiving rent relief, and that confusion had come after the end of the state government’s coronavirus relief scheme for commercial landlords.

“There was an issue, which a lot of restaurants are facing at the moment, with the landlords and whatever the case may be, where they don’t grant the COVID relief rent,” he said. 

“The landlords did not want to support – this is across the board – the rent relief.”

Mr Mico’s landlord was contacted for comment through the building’s property manager.

The state government’s support package for commercial landlords offered rebates of up to $3000 on rent waivers and reductions to landlords who would otherwise not have the means to relieve tenants, and up to 50 per cent discounts on land tax payments.

With the scheme having ended on March 28, tenant advocacy groups feared a wave of landlords applying to VCAT to have tenants removed after the expiration of eviction moratoriums.

In March The Age reported a 43 per cent increase in eviction applications between November 2020 and February 2021.

The Victorian Small Business Council responded to a record 13,206 enquiries in the 2019-20 financial year, with many coming from small business owners and landlords seeking advice about rent relief during COVID-19.

Mr Mico said the pandemic had caused a “hell of a lot of problems” to the restaurant industry.

“We’ve been hit hard, and a lot of people are going out of business,” he said.

Some that have been in business for 15, 20 years have had to shut doors completely.

The Olive Jar is one of Melbourne’s oldest Italian restaurants — established in the 1960s with “just gravel on the floor” to serve familiar food to the city’s Italian migrants, it still offers traditional fresh pasta, pizza, and homemade olive oil today.

Mr Mico said the pandemic had caused the “strongest damage” his business had seen in 60 years.

He praised the City of Melbourne’s initiatives to revitalise the council’s hospitality sector, including the Melbourne Money rebate scheme the council said handed out $1 million in cash back on meals in its first week.

“Everybody’s trying to help out, which is good, and I think people should be helped out to come out and enjoy life again,” he said.

Carlton resident and Olive Jar patron Anna Kosovac, who first noticed the “for lease” notice on the restaurant on June 2, said its permanent closure would be like history being lost. 

“It’s just so sad to see businesses like this struggling, because I feel like there is so much of Carlton’s identity wrapped up in them,” she said.

The for-lease notice — now gone — was accompanied by the landline phone number of real estate agent Nelson Alexander, which told Inner City News the property had a lease to December 2021 and was not being advertised.

Mr Mico told Inner City News he believed the notice had been painted by his landlord, against whom he said he had sought an intervention order and engaged a lawyer — but said he was trying to move on from the disagreement.

“We’ve been around for a long time, and we really don’t want to have any problems with anyone,” he said.

“We just want everyone to understand, whether it’s the landlord or anyone else, is that the industry’s been hit so hard. It’s the strength from our regulars and neighbours and so forth to keep going. Certain things are not made easy at all. So, you’ve got to keep pushing.” •

Caption: Graffiti out the front of Carlton’s oldest Italian restaurant Olive Jar.