‘Stolen not saved’: Barbs fly in fight over sale of the Gaso

3 months ago 9

A war of words has broken out over the Gasometer in Collingwood, with the former operator branding its reinvention a cheap imitation and claiming he lost $250,000 because of its sale.

But the landlord has dismissed James Martelletti’s claims as rubbish and said issues only rose when Martelletti requested changes to the lease.

Former operator of the Gasometer Hotel, James Martelletti, has blasted the landlord of the pub.

Earlier this week The Age revealed chef and restaurateur Scott Pickett bought the leasehold of “the Gaso” at the corner of Smith Street and Alexandra Parade after it closed down.

Pickett said he would continue to operate the pub as a live music venue, scotching fears it would be turned into a gastro pub or apartments.

However, Martelletti – the pub’s former lessee who operated the Gasometer until it closed in March – has blasted the landlord over the sale of the lease to Pickett.

“Probably a little easier to establish a business when you start by stiffing the previous owners out of around $250k,” he posted on Instagram on Wednesday night on The Gasometer’s Instagram account, which he still has control of.

“Landlords being greedy landlords they decided to refuse our perfectly reasonable offer for another party to take over the business with the name and other business assets which lead to us losing the sale price, paying for liquidation and having to make our staff redundant,” he wrote. “This is no longer the Gaso, this is a cheap shady imitation who have decided to shit on its legacy instead of support it. Stolen not saved.”

Martelletti said he did not own any trademarks around the Gasometer, just the trading name the Gasometer Hotel, and said he likely had no legal recourse but wanted to “shame them for attempting to steal our goodwill off us with zero compensation”.

“F--- this place off and go somewhere that actually supports live music,” Martelletti posted and tagged other live music venues including The Tote, Creatures of Habit, The Bergy and the Leadbeater Hotel.

Martelletti failed to respond to multiple requests for comment.

The Gasometer property is owned by Jim Kurtulus, who owns a number of pubs around Melbourne with his brother John.

Kurtulus said Martelletti’s claims were “110 per cent incorrect”.

“That is a load of shit,” he said. “How can you sell a business when there is no lease? Who is going to buy it? All he had to do is enter a lease, then get rid of the place. Simple.

“He changed to a 12-month lease, then all of a sudden he wanted to change to month-to-month,” he said. “We were not willing to do month-to-month. It is not a residential premises, it is a commercial lease.”

Chef Scott Pickett has taken over the Gasometer.

Pickett declined to comment and said the dispute was between the previous leaseholder and the landlord.

Pickett owns and operates a string of top restaurants in Melbourne, including Estelle in Northcote, Matilda in South Yarra, Smith Street Bistro in Collingwood and Longrain in the CBD.

He is renovating the pub with his son, Harry Pickett, and is reopening it in stages, with the front bar already operational.

The back room will continue to host live music with themed nights for comedy, uni, open mic, up-and-coming artists and live music.

The Gasometer is believed to have operated continuously since it was first licensed in 1861 until its closure, and headliners over the years have included Jet, Paul Dempsey and the Saints.

Its closure for several months sparked alarm with music venues around the city under pressure from increasing public liability insurance and soaring operating costs hitting everything from alcohol prices to utility bills.