“It is with heavy heart, that we wish to advise the closure of Aristotle’s Neutral Bay,” wrote Stuart MacGill and O’Meagher, the owners of Aristotle’s Greek restaurant.
The closure follows a bizarre series of events which saw former cricket star MacGill allegedly kidnapped and held at gunpoint over a drug dispute in south-west Sydney in April.
Marino Sotiropoulos, O’Meagher’s brother, was one of the four men later arrested over the alleged plot where captors pressured Mr MacGill to hand over $150,000 to recover money from a dodgy drug deal, the court heard.
Mr MacGill has been cleared by police of allegations that he was involved in illegal activity, noting he was “purely a victim”.
READ MORE: Marino Sotiropoulos, one of four linked to kidnap of cricket star Stuart MacGill
The post announcing the closure also stated that the “families have also been under a great deal of personal stress with what has happened to Stuart. The extra staff costs to cover our absence have also had a detrimental impact on our business.”
The owners stated they had been in negotiations with the landlord seeking relief, howeverthe owners wanted to increase the rent having decided that COVID is over.
Mr Sotiropoulos was charged with take/detain in company with intent to get advantage occasioning actual bodily harm, participating in a criminal group, and supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.
The restaurant closed down last Monday evening. “We offer our apologies to our friends and customers who have made bookings over the coming weeks and would like to thank everyone who has supported us,” wrote the owners.
“We now look forward to taking some time off to spend with our loved ones and we will hopefully see you at our new venture in the not too distant future.”