After four years of trading, the Italian Place Providore and Bottega is closing down. Owner Tony Lo Terzo suffered a massive stroke four weeks ago.
Chef Francesco Petrillo will keep running the restaurant, the Italian Place Enoteca, despite it going into voluntary administration in July 2023.
The last day of trading for the providore was April 2.
"Tony suffered a massive stroke four weeks ago and has been hospitalised since," a social media post said.
He has been paralysed down his left-hand side and is working with therapists to try and regain some mobility.
"But the Italian Place Enoteca will continue to trade, business as usual," the post said.
"We sincerely thank all of our loyal customers and producers for their thoughts and wishes over this difficult period, these have kept Tony in good spirits as he continues to recover."
Lo Terzo and Petrillo opened the Italian Place Enoteca in 2019. They met while working at Italian and Sons.
Lo Terzo had worked in hospitality venues across the country, but his dream was to create a casual venue that brought Italy to Canberra. He also always wanted to open a providore of sorts and opened the market-style store next door to the restaurant in 2021.
It specialised in traditional Italian fare, from olive oils, canned fish, tomatoes, speciality drinks and a range of dried pasta in all shapes and sizes, among many other things. During COVID lockdowns it did a roaring trade in fresh take-home meals made in the restaurant kitchen.
Liquidator Frank Lo Pilato from RSM Australia has been appointed to assist with the closure of the providore.
When it went into voluntary administration in 2023, Lo Pilato estimated the business owed nearly $400,000 to 56 creditors. This included more than $234,000 to the Australian Taxation Office, nearly $160,000 to trade creditors and $5700 in employee entitlements.
Botswana Butchery went into voluntary administration on March 31, after only two months of operation.
Administrators Duncan Clubb and Andrew Sallway from BDO Australia Australia were appointed voluntary administrators of Good Group Australia and its subsidiaries on March 31, BDO media manager Jotham Lian said.
Lian said administrators were urgently assessing the companies.
"If possible, [we] intend to continue trade with a view of facilitating a restructure or going concern sale process in due course," he said.
