Even as Mr Griffiths' empire was collapsing around him towards the end of last year, he was still pushing ahead with a Doughnut Time sortie into the UK. But as of Sunday, the man whose businesses once transformed a low-traffic strip of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley nightlife precinct into a loud and alcohol-soaked hub said he no longer had any business interests and was heading for bankruptcy. “I had a go and made lots of mistakes,” he told Fairfax Media, via email. Doughnut Time owner Damian Griffiths with "Barbara", the restored vintage 1965 Carapark Astronaut. “Australia is a small market and a very tough retail environment and Australians are not too accepting of failure."

After a string of successful businesses and breakneck expansion, the end was relatively swift. The hospitality mogul’s KTG Bakeries, the business behind Chester Street Cake Shop chain, was the first domino to fall, collapsing in November last year owing the Australian Taxation Office $875,000. Loading Then Mr Griffiths’ personal finances took a massive hit, as family members successfully sued him for more than half a million dollars over debts dating back to his 2008 development of Limes Hotel in Fortitude Valley, where it all started. Following the late-2017 District Court decision, Mr Griffiths said the debt would force him into personal bankruptcy.

Les Bubbles bar and bistro – the upscale steak and chips joint that repurposed a bathhouse and illegal casino made famous as corrupt cops operated freely before the Fitzgerald Inquiry – was next to hit trouble. “We regret to inform you we are no longer a brothel,” a neon sign says over the bar of the venue, which is still trading. Administrators appointed three days before Christmas identified $1.2 million owing to creditors and criticised several of the operating company’s business practices. Mr Griffiths’ other companies owed the business more than $2 million after “funnelling” money from the steakhouse into other ventures, they wrote on January 24. A week later creditors voted to liquidate the business.

The tongue-in-cheek neon sign above the bar at Les Bubbles. Credit:Michelle Smith The doors to the Alfred and Constance hotel were shuttered in the days before Christmas, leaving a handful of New Year’s Eve party customers high and dry. Receivers Anthony Connelly and Jamie Harris from McGrathNicol took control of the business behind the old Queenslander-turned-pub and reopened it early February in an attempt to get the place up to scratch to sell. Limes Hotel was also seized in December. But the corner of Alfred and Constance streets lacked its previous vitality without former Griffiths ventures Kwan Bros, Alfredo’s Pizzeria and the original Doughnut Time window, all of which spearheaded a long-overdue move towards high-quality late-night dining in Brisbane. Alfred & Constance restaurant, bar and nightclub in Fortitude Valley.

The latest blow was a $404,000 lawsuit filed by the landlords of a failed Doughnut Time store in Sydney’s Central Park shopping mall, claiming breach of contract and unpaid rent. On Sunday, a defeated Mr Griffiths labelled the claim “vicious” and claimed customer numbers were well down on what was promised in the “ghost town”. But he said he was not going to “bother” to fight the claim, nor did he have the money. “I am now being forced into bankruptcy by my own relatives and now by this shopping centre landlord,” he said. “There is no point in fighting anymore. I have lost my business.

“I have made mistakes and I accept, for now I am going to let them win.” While Doughnut Time will shrink rapidly with Mr Griffiths’ departure, seven of 12 remaining stores will remain open: two in Brisbane, one on the Gold Coast, three in Melbourne and one in Sydney. Many staff will lose their jobs, particularly in Sydney, while several claim to be owed thousands of dollars. Mr Griffiths' former group chief executive Dan Strachotta confirmed he had agreed to terms to buy the remaining stores, criticising “crazy, unaffordable” retail rents, particularly in Sydney. “I've taken on some of the stores that I believe can recover from a very tough retail market and as part of that I intend to work with a different strategy focused more on online platforms and delivery partners rather than actual shops,” he said.

“It’s a great brand and a great product and I’ll be doing everything I can to make the brand successful again. “I’ll be offering jobs to as many of the current staff as possible during the transition.” Mr Griffiths would not reveal the sale price but said it would help clear some of the owed wages and he would not receive anything.