Sydney restaurant Little Viet Kitchen collapses into liquidation after $21k energy bill debt


A popular Sydney restaurant has collapsed after the business could not afford to pay a substantial gas and electricity bill.

But in a bizarre move, the restaurant has told patrons that it has temporarily shut down due to a water leak.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered Rahman Enterprise Manly Pty Ltd to go into liquidation.

Rahman Enterprise Manly Pty Ltd trades as Little Viet Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Judicial Registrar Gitsham ordered that Little Viet Kitchen “be wound up in insolvency” and appointed Brendan Copeland of restructuring firm HoganSprowles as the liquidator, according to court documents obtained by news.com.au.

Those documents showed that the restaurant had failed to settle a debt of $21,034 to its energy provider Covau Energy, and the matter eventually landed in court.

Little Viet Kitchen has more than 1000 followers on social media and is located on the Manly esplanade, a short walk from Manly Corso, Manly Beach and the ferry wharf. When news.com.au visited the site on Thursday night, it was shuttered, but with no signage as to why.

No representative from Little Viet Kitchen attended the Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday so the registrar ruled in the favour of the plaintiff, Covau Energy.

It appears the winding up may have come as a surprise, with the restaurant making a promotional post on Instagram just two days prior to shutting down.

News.com.au contacted the owners with several questions and they saw the message but did not respond.

A story posted to the company’s Instagram on Wednesday claimed that a water leak had temporarily put them out of business but that they were trying to get takeaway up and running as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances of a water leak, Little Viet Kitchen will be closed until further notice,” the story post read.

“Due to minimum capacity, we will try to operate takeaway as soon as possible, in the interim of the floor being repaired.

“We appreciate your understanding and will keep you updated along the way with progress.”

When news.com.au asked why they were informing customers of a water leak when this was not the reason for the company’s closure, the Instagram story was quickly removed.

The liquidator, Mr Copeland, confirmed to news.com.au that the company has ceased trading for good.

He said it was too early at this stage to know the extent of the company’s assets and liabilities, or the number of creditors.

Little Viet Kitchen has been a registered business since 2019.

The hospitality scene across Australia has been gutted in a post-pandemic world as the cost of living crisis rages, causing many cafes and restaurants to go bust.

On Wednesday, news.com.au reported that two Hog’s Breath Cafes in NSW had entered into liquidation.

Little Viet Kitchen is not even the first Manly restaurant to fall victim to the unprecedented economic times.

In March, Manly’s Jellyfish Cafe, which specialised in seafood dishes and brunch favourites, went into liquidation after nearly two decades of operation.

Also in March, an iconic popular bar and burger joint in Melbourne’s inner city, The Beer & Burger Bar, went into voluntary liquidation owing around $500,000 to 10 unsecured creditors.

Earlier this month, national restaurant chain Sushi Bay also collapsed, with its last remaining Sydney, Darwin and Canberra branches ordered to shut down, amid allegations that workers had been underpaid $650,000 over a number of years.

Read related topics:Sydney



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