Quite incredibly, Doughnut Time is set to rise from the ashes of its own spectacular failure, with the company set to return to the streets of Australian cities four months after it caved in on itself.
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The company’s Facebook page has sprung back into action in recent days after laying dormant since early March, when the original owners ran into severe trouble, forcing the hasty closure of all stores across the nation and leaving aggrieved employees out of work and seeking some $200,000 in unpaid wages.
The company, professing to be under new ownership, began teaser posts two days ago promising that their return to trade is imminent.
A subsequent comment from Doughnut Time administrators asserts that the company does not support what occurred under previous ownership, and encourages former staff to continue seeking owed wages through the Department of Jobs and Small Business.
It also asserts that the return will not be on the gargantuan scale that brought the company’s previous iteration unstuck, with plans to limit the new company’s operations to eight total locations, including three in Queensland and two in Victoria.
To answer some of your questions: Doughnut Time is under completely new ownership and management.
As the new owners, we think what happened to past employees is unacceptable. 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.
At this stage we are planning on opening eight new stores in the next two months in locations such as The Myer Centre and South Bank in Brisbane, Degraves Street and Fitzroy in Melbourne, plus Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
Amid the company’s original struggles, previous company CEO Dan Strachotta attempted to purchase the company from founder and owner Damian Griffiths, who attracted severe criticism for the way he handled the company’s collapse. That sale fell through after Griffiths refused to sign over crucial paperwork to Strachotta.
Now, it’s been confirmed that the company’s new owner is Peter Andros, who heads up a group of unnamed investors based in Australia and the US. The group purchased the brand from a third-party appointed by the liquidators in charge of gutting the original company.
Andros, a health and fitness entrepreneur, has plans to modernise Doughnut Time’s menu of offerings by introducing more vegan and gluten-free options, as well as doughnuts that are low-sugar, and doughnuts that utilise a hemp protein in their mixtures.
Make of that what you will.
The first new Doughnut Time store, in Burleigh Heads, is reportedly set to open its doors on August 1st.
