Female bar staff come forward over drug, rape allegations

Two high-profile female bartenders say they were sexually assaulted while working at one of Sydney’s biggest hospitality empires, accusing the company of failing to take their complaints seriously.

Rachelle “Rocky” Hair and Jenna Hemsworth have come out publicly with their allegations against Swillhouse after the organisation denied it had discriminated against staff who reported sexual assault in recent days.

Ms Hair was the first woman employed as a bartender across three Swillhouse venues, while Ms Hemsworth was the 2018 Australian Bartender of the Year.

Swillhouse – which is currently in damage control following an expose by the Sydney Morning Herald – owns six of Sydney’s most prestigious venues – The Baxter Inn, Le Foote, Restaurant Hubert, the Caterpillar Club, Alberto’s Lounge and Shady Pines.

The group also owned Frankie’s Pizza before it was shut down in 2023.

Ms Hair told the Herald she was assaulted by a fellow staff member while working at Shady Pines. She later filed a report with the NSW Police after being pressured to take MDMA.

“As the first female staff member across many of the venues, I was essentially the canary in the coal mine,” Ms Hair told the Herald.

“If [Swillhouse] had learnt and changed ten years ago and the assaults and harassment had stopped with me, I would have let this go.”

Ms Hair said the apology issued by Swillhouse in recent days was not enough.

“Insincere Instagram apologies mean nothing,” she said. “Swillhouse have had the better part of a decade to take action and protect the people that work for them.”

Ms Hemsworth said she became a “square peg in a round hole” after reporting an alleged assault to the company.

“My choice to remain anonymous until now has been to place the onus on the culture that allowed this to happen – not on me as a victim,” she said.

“I can sleep well at night knowing I’ve done all I can to make this industry a little bit safer than it was when I entered it. Can you [Swillhouse]? I hope you learn. And I hope you grow. And I hope to God this signals the beginning of the end of this cycle of abuse.”

Swillhouse CEO Anton Forte stepped down from the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association on Wednesday as a result of the investigation, however, is not himself accused of any wrongdoing.

In a statement given to news.com.au on Wednesday, a spokesman for Swillhouse said some of the claims were 16 years old, assuring patrons they were not representative of the “business we are today”.

“Since our earlier days, our policies and procedures have evolved, our HR team has expanded, and a greater support network looks vastly different,” the spokesman said.

“Swillhouse has worked very hard in recent years to promote a diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace – an environment where bullying, harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated.”

The spokesman also said the group was “committed to rebuilding” trust with its customers.

“The topics addressed in recent media cover a wide range of issues over a period spanning years, dating back to 2008. Over this 16-year period, we are under no illusions; Swillhouse was not always a perfect workplace,” he said.

“But that is not the business we are today and certainly not the business we strive to be.”

In another blow to the empire’s patronage, an Instagram post from the company announced the cancellation of its inaugural Swillfest, billed as “probably the world’s most original wine fair”, on Thursday evening.

“Our responsibility and focus right now is to our people and their wellbeing, and for this reason, we don’t feel it’s appropriate to go ahead with plans for the Swillfest on 21 September,” the post read, alongside an apology to the public.

“We’ve decided to postpone the event. We will issue refunds to all ticket holders.”

The company described the event as “part wine fair, music festival, Bacchanalian revival, and full cultural freakout” with pop-up food and beverage stores.

On Thursday, the allegations became even more wild when it was revealed a group of bartenders at Baxter Inn once competed to be the first to have sex with a customer at the venue in a bid to win a bottle of 1982 Penfolds Grange.

After three hours, one of the staff members allegedly had sex with a customer in a room behind an old bank vault door – emerging to claim his prize of a wine worth more than $1000.

Another former bartender said staff at Hubert would frequently use “the cinque room” to do lines of cocaine while working.

In February 2023, Mr Forte wrote an email to all staff removing a policy that allowed staff one free “knock-off drink” as well as a 50 per cent discount on drinks.

“This email is tough to write,” he said in the memo.

“Due to several incidents at our venues involving staff and alcohol, we have had to decide to no longer offer this benefit. We understand that this benefit has been part of the fabric of our business and a considerable part of our culture.

“However, our commitment to you is more significant than just offering benefits. As a business, we also need to prioritise and promote a culture of safety and wellbeing.”

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