Johnny Dees burger restaurant left owing $235k amid closure

One of Gympie’s favourite restaurants has closed with some massive debts. Here’s where it went wrong.

Liquidation documents lodged with ASIC reveal the popular burger joint, owned by Raucci Enterprises (Leon Raucci pictured) owed more than $230,000 when it closed in the middle of September.

A six-figure tax bill has been revealed as a key contributor to the shock closure of popular Gympie burger joint Johnny Dees this month.

An initial report into the company’s liquidation, lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reveals Raucci Enterprises owed more than $235,000 when it wound up.

The largest debt was to the Australian Taxation Office, where $142,344.05 was outstanding.

Raucci Enterprises, the company behind Johnny Dees and Sushi Flame and Japanese Grill, moved into voluntary liquidation on Tuesday.

Johnny Dees’s doors were shut on Friday September 18.

A Facebook post from the page the following day announced the shock closure, saying “our lease has come to an end and we have decided to close Johnny Dees”.

The Johnny Dees restaurant closed on Friday September 18, with a Facebook post saying the decision was made after the lease came to an end.

Jarvis Archer of Revive Financial at Noosa has been appointed liquidator.

Another $30,000 was owing to small business loan company Prospa and $26,000 more was owing to Rattler Racing, the company behind Noosa-based Driftlab Automotive.

Unpaid superannuation was another problem for the company.

Raucci Enterprises was carrying a $20,646.42 unpaid Superannuation Guarantee Charge debt, and owed three staff members a total of $1155.65 in superannuation payment.

More than $9500 was still owing to nine businesses, with $3020.43 owed to Origin LPG the largest of these.

Johnny Dees was a popular business in the region, regularly featuring in readers’ polls for their favourite takeaway or burger joint.

Another as-yet-unknown debt was owed to SupaGas.

The company was still owed $13,011.14 when it shut.

This included two payments of $2500 in trainee incentives from the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, and two bonds over the Bruce Highway shops the store called home for several years.

The company’s assets at the time of its closure, including plant and equipment and money in bank accounts, has not yet been determined.

Attempts were made to contact Mr Archer and Raucci director Kelly Raucci.