Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Monte’s Lounge owner Kyle Pearson says the popular pub will close for good at the end of the year due to crime and COVID

Transcript

Monte’s Lounge owner Kyle Pearson says the popular pub will close for good at the end of the year due to crime and COVID · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the owner
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: of Monty's Lounge, Kyle Pearson. Good morning to you, Kyle.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Not too bad, Thanks so much for your time this morning.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Kyle.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: We understand there has been reports that you're very popular
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: local pub Monty's Lounge. You've made the tough decision to
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: not reopen next year.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, we're at the end of our least there
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: and now we've just had to make the hard decisions
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: to make in an unfortunate but it's just simply not
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: viable to go on. And so yeah, yeah, this is where,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: unfortunately it's going to end. Monty.
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: Kyle, talk us through the reasons behind that.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I know you've just said that the lease is run out,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: but I understand that, you know, the issues that you
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: have been experiencing when it comes to crime have had
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: an impact.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, if I can put together a bit
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: of a timeline for we we purchased Monty's mostly December
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: twenty eight eight, We traded for eleven weeks and then
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: we'll shut down due to COVID. So it's been a
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: real struggle the whole time. You know, COVID. Everyone knows
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I meant to be talking about anyone, absolutely devastated. Because
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: we're in new business, we didn't get tax relay from
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: the federal government. We could be you know, people working
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: on business, so we didn't get job keeper allowance in
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: the first instance. So whilst we went in there with
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: grand plans to improve the place, you know, to make
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: it better, it just turned into a three year game
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: of survival, you know. And after all that, we opened
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the game into this, you know, this disgusting level of crime.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm an adilator. I didn't even know what happened
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  Speaker 2: in Alis last night. I'm just it's just golf smacks.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: It's just unbelievable.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it is. It is totally unbelievable.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, we've spoken to the commander or sorry,
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  Speaker 1: the assistant commissioner yesterday about you know, the impact that
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: having the additional police there was having in terms of
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: trying to quell.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Some of that unrest.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: But it just as though there are ongoing issues with
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: crime and anti social behavior and it must make it
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  Speaker 1: really difficult when it comes to running a business.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look it's Thairty Police for the answer. Why
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  Speaker 2: didn't they do it? Three? I mean, I've been in
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  Speaker 2: early twenty years why didn't they do that twenty years ago,
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  Speaker 2: put thirty more police on it. Rn't know that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: whilst it might have some short time effects, I'm not
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  Speaker 2: here to criticize the police, you know on the ground.
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  Speaker 2: Look what you know, that's what's happened last night. How
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: effective is it and what's being done to address the
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: root causes of crime? Because what if we're doing in
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: the billions of dollars in things throwing out and top.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and this is the thing.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, I feel as though, obviously I'm not
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: based in Alice Springs, so I don't know exactly what
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: goes on from from day to day, but it does
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: feel as though it's something that you've been grappling with
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  Speaker 1: for quite a while and it's taken quite a long
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: time for there to be sort of really serious action.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know where it became for Austen where
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: the real turn around came with monkeys, I mean break
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: into one thing and I think our record was seven
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: times in forty eight hours. But I mean when it's
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: crime against the person and people are coming out to
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: have a good night, their tires are getting slashed, they're
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: getting bashed on the way home, you know, their handbags
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  Speaker 2: are getting stolen off the tables by people that sneak
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  Speaker 2: in when our security guard turns his back for thirty seconds.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: You know, people just don't want anymore. And that's the
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  Speaker 2: message we're getting from our friend, from our customers. We're
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: just saying it's just not safe to go out, so
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: they'd rather go to a house party than go out.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, it's a pretty sad stave affairs for
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  Speaker 2: our Springs.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: Like a guess to that, Yeah, I mean it is.
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  Speaker 3: It's a bloody, very sad state of affairs.
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  Speaker 1: And as you've you know, you've touched on, it makes
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  Speaker 1: it makes it difficult for you guys to be able
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  Speaker 1: to have a business there and be able to continue
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  Speaker 1: to have it viable if then people don't really want
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  Speaker 1: to go out at nighttime.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know that's just kind of a
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  Speaker 2: reality now. I mean, you know, it doesn't feel safe
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  Speaker 2: to go out, and you know, once again, it's just
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: really sad. And we're spending money and trying to attack
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: people through the Northern Territory and they come down the
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  Speaker 2: Springs and that's what they're faced with.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Kyle, I know that, you know it would have
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: been a tough decision to make, and no doubt it's
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: going to impact on staff as well. But you've got
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: a couple of businesses, don't you.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have the brewery in town as well. And
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  Speaker 2: you know I was told recently by government, someone in
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: government at least I still have that, which is a
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  Speaker 2: pretty poor conformation prize in my regard, because it's no
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: happy going coincidence that the brewer is successful has taking
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: a hard you know a lot of hard work to
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  Speaker 2: get to that point. And you know, another point to
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: be made is people tell us now that they come
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: out to the brewery because it's not in the CBD.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: They come out there because you know, they can sit
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: there and take their children there and have a meal
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  Speaker 2: safety and they don't worrying about their cars getting smashed,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: you know, theirs getting stolen, which and why that's great
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: for us now, I don't know, you know, things are
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: going on the way they go. How long will remain
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: a reality because the cross isn't just isolated to the CBD.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: And you know, as we've seen in recent with the
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  Speaker 2: with the operation that's been going on, it's just pushing
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: crime out to the suburbs.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Mate, what Like, I know that you guys have been
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  Speaker 1: trying to raise these concerns with government for quite some time.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you speak about them open and you know,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: very openly and genuinely. But what you know, what is
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: your message really for those in those decision making positions
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: when it comes to what's going on in Alice Springs
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  Speaker 1: around those issues of crime and anti social behavior.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: I think it's just time to get serious. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: someone who recently were angry about being broaken into that, personally,
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  Speaker 2: I don't get angry. I don't get sad, and I'm
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: not going to get angry at a bunch of children
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  Speaker 2: that you know, really have no prospects in life, you know,
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: and then nothing's been done to fix that. So you
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: know what if I was in the same same position
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  Speaker 2: in their age, you know what, what what to look
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: forward to? You know, it's really you know, it's a
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: really tough situation. And then I think there needs, you know,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: needs to be a really serious look at where all
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  Speaker 2: the funding is going, you know, to try and help
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  Speaker 2: people if it's not been successful and are just going
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: to a life of crime. Like yeah, you know, it's yeah,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: once again, I just don't it's hard to begrudge kids
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  Speaker 2: that really don't have a lot to look forward to
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: in life.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Well, Kyle, I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: very much for having a chat with us. Some sorry
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: to hear that it is a situation that you know
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: that you've had to make that decision around Monty's, but yeah,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate you coming on and having a chat.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: With us about it.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Katy, thanks very much.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: Thanks mate,