THE operators of the ill-fated Betty and Muriel’s restaurant have fled to Sydney.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Court documents signed late last month show chef Brock Gregory T. Phillips is living in the heart of the city.
The papers also say he fears for his safety if a small claims court matter was heard at Wagga.
Yesterday, the East Sydney law firm acting on his behalf declined to comment or act as a go-between for The Border Mail.
More than a month after the Albury restaurant and wedding reception venue closed leaving behind substantial debts, Mr Phillips and principal of the business Graeme Austin are still to be sighted.
But what is now known is that at least Mr Phillips was in Sydney in late January and most likely still living in the eastern suburbs.
A Wagga business owed more than $4000 by the pair when they ran Betty and Muriel’s at Junee, has legal documents signed by the chef at a law firm in Goulburn Street, Sydney, on January 29.
Additional paperwork sought the relocation of the court matter from Wagga to a central Sydney court because it was closer to his new home.
Supporting his application for the relocation to the Downing Centre, in Liverpool Street, Mr Phillips said he had left Albury due to threats of physical violence.
The documents also pointed out that his departure from the Border had attracted front-page headlines.
Yesterday, co-owner of Riverina Party Hire Luke Grealy doubted that he would ever recover the $4064.
“They now claim that Brock Phillips was not part of the Betty and Muriel’s business and not responsible for the debt and want the matter heard in Sydney,” he said.
“That is despite the fact that we only dealt with him and understood that he was a partner.
“It is criminal what this pair have done, not just to us but families that had been planning weddings.
“We are $4000 out of pocket and just a small business, it is a big hit but we will survive.
“But for a bride to lose all that money is a disgrace.”
Mr Grealy’s firm hired out a marquee to the Junee Betty and Muriel’s in October last year, a month before Mr Austin sold the business.