25/05/2025
I’ve been putting this off for a while now - probably because saying it out loud makes it feel real.
𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟏𝟒𝟐 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠.
21st of June will be our last service on Hindley Street.
This isn’t a closure due to the familiar headline: “hospitality venue hit by tough times.” Although the last few years have pushed us all.
This isn’t because we couldn’t make it work. Quite the opposite. We’ve been doing record numbers this past 12 months.
The food is dialled. The team is tight. The love from our customers has never felt stronger.
The full story is more layered, shaped by changes and decisions outside our control.
I am immensely grateful for everything that Motherlode 142 has become, but it’s time for a new direction.
I’ve been cooking this idea since 2014 - from late nights in shipping containers to building a full restaurant from the ground up. I’ve poured everything into it: the branding, the menu, the interiors, the service, the tone, the smallest details that nobody probably even noticed. Every part of it has a piece of me in it.
And now It’s time to let it go… for now...
Juggling a full creative load on top of external events, a restaurant (that kept getting busier and busier), and a “life outside of work” began to take its toll, and I realised that I was starting to notice I no longer had the energy or space to grow this they way I wanted to. To evolve it. To let it become what I always hoped it could be.
And if I can’t give it 100%, then I’d rather 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 on a high - instead of letting it fade. I’d rather put it to bed properly, with pride and integrity, than let it run on fumes and resentment.
There’s more to say - and I’ll say it in time.
But for now, just this: Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who’s eaten with us, worked with us, supported us, or shared a nug with a friend or just told someone else to check us out - I'm beyond grateful. Thank you to the staff, from the day-oners to the new hires and all the amazing people in between.
Motherlode isn’t dead.
Just stepping away from this lil’ frontage on Hindley street.
The brand, the recipes, the vibe - that all still lives on. Just not in this form (for now anyway 👀)
You’ll still see us out in the wild, at festivals, pop-ups, kitchen takeovers - Local, interstate and internationally, and wherever fried chicken belongs.
But for that to happen properly, it’s time for a break.
The last few years have been an incredible ride. It’s time to recharge, bring back the ideas, find the joy again and get the trickle of creative energy back to overflow mode.
Motherlode deserves the best - and that requires me at full tilt again.
So I’m taking some time - to breathe and recalibrate.
To come back when I’m ready to inject the chaos, colour and flavour this thing was built on.
We’ll be slinging nuggets until our last service on the 21st of June.. Come through - for one last hit, or to say hi / goodbye.
As always, walk-ins are welcome, but sharing the love by making a booking ahead of time would be an absolutely stellar way to help us out as we navigate our closing chapter.
Let’s finish strong, and let’s finish it properly.
Thank you for riding with us.
– Chet
