Omeros Bros Wound Up by Tax Office After Father-Son Split

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The company behind the Gold Coast seafood restaurant Omeros Bros has been wound up by the tax office after a father-son split, a new venue opened without the founder, and claims of more than $2 million in liabilities.

For 35 years Omeros Bros was a waterfront institution at Marina Mirage, known for Moreton Bay bugs and curry prawns. Brothers Nick and Angelo Omeros founded it in 1989. After Angelo died in 2006, Nick’s son Johnny took over day-to-day running. Guests over the years included Beyoncé, Dave Grohl and Bill Gates.

That run ended quietly. On Tuesday the Federal Court ordered the company wound up and appointed David Hambleton as liquidator. The Deputy Commissioner of Taxation had filed the application on 18 August.

A week later, on 26 August, Supreme Court proceedings Nick Omeros had brought against Johnny were discontinued.

The restaurant had already shut. In January it was forced out of Marina Mirage by a $500 million redevelopment of the precinct. In May Nick sued his son, accusing him of opening a new restaurant, Johnny Omeros, on the Isle of Capri behind his back.

In an affidavit reported by the Courier Mail, Nick said he had meant to stay involved and was “blindsided” when he was “completely excluded.” “I was not, and still am not, ready to retire,” he deposed. He said that in 2017, while he had surgery, he left daily operations to his three children, and that he and Johnny had later agreed on Capri and met the landlord together.

He claimed company liabilities exceeded $2.15 million, including about $1 million allegedly owed to the ATO, and alleged Johnny breached his duties as co-director. He had sought injunctions to stop his son running another restaurant while still a director of the original company, and to stop use of the Omeros name. Those proceedings are now discontinued.

Separately, Nick’s wife Vicky and son Harry were arrested in April 2024. Vicky is charged with one count of money laundering recklessly; Harry with one count of money laundering knowingly. Neither has entered a plea. Both are listed for a committal mention at Southport Magistrates Court on 18 November. No one else in the family is accused.

Johnny Omeros opened in July in the former Isla Dining space at Capri Via Roma. Its Instagram calls it “your neighbourhood Greek by the water.”

Tags: Omeros Bros, Johnny Omeros, Nick Omeros, Gold Coast, Marina Mirage, Isle of Capri, ATO, David Hambleton, liquidation

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