Seasonal Garden Cafe owner Silvia Hart makes deal with ATO to pay superannuation debt, regrets opening Norwood branch

Hills food identity Silvia Hart owes thousands of dollars in unpaid superannuation and says she made a mistake expanding her Seasonal Garden Cafe brand to Norwood.

Silvia Hart at the Norwood branch of the Seasonal Garden Cafe, shortly after it opened. The business is now under contract for sale. Picture: Calum Robertson

• Seasonal Garden owner sued for $100k for alleged unpaid bill
• Hills food identity denies underpaying staff

Hills food identity Silvia Hart owes thousands of dollars in unpaid superannuation and says she made a mistake expanding her Seasonal Garden Cafe brand to Norwood.

The owner of the popular Hahndorf cafe told The Advertiser she had entered into payment plan with the ATO to pay staff their entitlements, adding she had “easily lost” $200,000 since opening a fourth branch on The Parade, Norwood.

Nine former employees, including former executive chef Zena Mansour, have told The Advertiser they are owed superannuation.

Ms Mansour, who worked for Ms Hart from September 2017 and resigned last November, said she had not been paid $10,000 in superannuation.

Ms Hart’s nephew, Logan Roth, who quit at the same time as Ms Mansour, said he was owed $3,277.86 in superannuation and $718.56 in outstanding wages.

Ms Hart on Tuesday appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court where Pooraka fruit and vegetable wholesaler AMJ Produce is suing her over an alleged $100,000 debt.

The court adjourned the matter for a month to give Ms Hart time to file an amended defence and inspect documents held by AMJ Produce’s lawyers.

Ms Hart wants to inspect signed delivery dockets to prove that items charged were delivered to her businesses and has denied the extent of the debt.

Speaking after the hearing Ms Hart, 46, confirmed she owed employees superannuation and that she entered into an agreement with the ATO last October to service her debts.

She blamed her business’ difficulties on her decision to delegate management of the business owing to ongoing health issues, including five knee operations and fibromyalgia, a condition that causes chronic pain and fatigue.

She said that “in hindsight” she should not have opened the Norwood branch, which she put up for sale last July, less than a year after it opened in September 2017.

“I took a gamble that doesn’t always pay off,” she said. “It’s still a good business but we need it to perform better than it was.

“The estimated fit-out almost tripled because we had to rip up the floor, redo plumbing, electrical and that took a big chunk of money out of the business.”

The business is under contract but Ms Hart remained tight-lipped on who the prospective owner was but said they would do “really well”.

Ms Hart sold her Stirling branch to her daughter Magdalena Hart last August.

Ms Hart said that she was not “everyone’s cup of tea” but said that she was “not a bad person”.

Former Seasonal Garden Cafe cook Hamish Kearvell, who quit last November after more than two year’s service, said he was not paid superannuation during his tenure nor holiday pay upon his departure.

“Towards my final months working I was assigned as head chef of the Norwood cafe despite no culinary qualifications,” he said. “I was the only cook in the kitchen for three out of five days and was unable to take a break during these days as I had no one to cover me, while working ten-hour-plus days.”