RASHAYS FOUNDER FORCED TO CLOSE DOWN POPULAR RESTAURANT
- Rashays forced to close popular restaurant
- READ MORE: Rashays owner hits out at 'slanderous' rumour after the food
The founder of the popular restaurant chain Rashays has been forced to close another location just two years after it opened.
Rami Ykmour, 49, who founded the chain in 1998, said skyrocketing costs had been forced to close his restaurant in Bundaberg, about 360km north of Brisbane.
The news was announced on social media and on a sign on the door, which informed customers that the store would close on July 1 'until further notice'.
'The cost of everything is going up,' Mr Ykmour told the Courier Mail.
'It's put so much pressure on us. We have to stop the bleeding.'
Mr Ykmour said there was still hope the restaurant could reopen with government assistance or if business costs could be negotiated.
'The government is doing absolutely nothing to support small businesses,' he said.
The store had officially closed just 24 hours earlier on Monday, July 1 - just shy of two years after it first opened in August 2022.
In May 2024, Rashays closed its Toowoomba location after Mr Ykmour was forced to defend the location against rumours the food was frozen.
The restaurateur labelled the allegations 'slander' and made social media videos to highlight that the food was fresh.
The 49-year-old went through the shelves of the refrigerated space in the restaurant, grabbing fresh, sealed packaged food, including sauces, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, sausages, meat, chicken, vegetables and pasta.
'How is this frozen? When I heard the security guard said, "I've heard rumours everything is frozen here", I just had to do this video,' Mr Ykmour said.
'I haven't organised the cool room... just to tell everyone, I hope you all hear me. The reason why I am so passionate is because this isn't my business, it's my baby.
'For people to be slandering my business that way, God forgive him, and God forgive you, I hope you've heard me and I can't be anymore passionate and can't be more honest than that.'
In August 2023, the Rashays restaurant in Maroochydore said it was closing for renovations and never opened again.
In 2022, the Toombul location in northeast Brisbane was closed after it sustained serious water damage after the region was inundated by floods.
Rashays, described as a relaxed family-friendly diner, has 34 locations across the east coast in Queensland, the ACT, NSW and Victoria.
Read more 2024-07-05T04:20:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd
