Landlord repossesses fast food store as chain’s woes deepen

The last remaining NSW store of a once-popular fast food chain appears to have been forced to shut down after the landlord repossessed the property.

The last remaining NSW store of a once-popular fast food chain appears to have been forced to shut down after the landlord repossessed the property.

The last remaining NSW store of fast food chain Lord of the Fries appears to have been forced to shut down after it says the landlord repossessed the property.

A sign adorns the door of its Newtown store, in Sydney’s inner west, revealing that the store is no longer in business.

“Take note that the landlord has taken back possession of the premises,” the sign reads.

“Any forced entry will be deemed as trespassing and reported to the local authorities.”

The Lord of the Fries Newtown store was the only venue left in the state. There are still several stores in South Australia, Queensland and Victoria that are still trading.

Lord of the Fries is renowned for its all-vegan menu, which offers customers plant-based fast food favourites like burgers, hot dogs, fries, nuggets, and mac n cheese balls.

But its Sydney store closure could be temporary, according to Lord of the Fries co-founder and head of operations Amanda Leigh Walker.

“We are in negotiations with the landlord … trying to work out if it’s worth the push or let go,” she wrote on social media.

News.com.au contacted Lord of the Fries for comment.

The morbid sign greeting customers at the once-popular venue.

But much like its namesake, the business has been in a struggle to survive in recent years in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis.

Before the pandemic, Lord of the Fries operated about 27 outlets and was going to open another 40 but those plans had to be drastically put on hold.

In 2020, the first ever Lord of the Fries store, located in Melbourne’s CBD on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Flinders Street, shut its doors forever in what was dubbed the end of an era.

Then came another blow. Lord of the Fries Property, which was a crucial leasing vehicle for franchisees, collapsed in 2022 with debts of $2 million. Most of the debts was owed to landlords.

At the time, Lord of the Fries co-founder Mark Koronczyk said the Covid-19 lockdowns across Victoria and NSW had delivered a massive blow to his chain.

“The impact of Covid was massive for many of our stores, like it has been across the sector,” he told The Herald Sun in 2022.

As recently as three months ago, the master franchisor holder of the New Zealand arm of the business, Bruce Craig, announced he is looking to sell up.

He has grown the franchise to six stores in New Zealand and told local publisher The Post he wanted to sell it all for NZ$1.2 million (A$1.1 million).

“We’ve had a tough couple of years like everyone else for sure, and have been working hard to keep the doors open,” Mr Craig said.

“It’s not like it has been a massively profitable business, but we feel like it is going to be pretty soon because the tide is turning again and people are starting to come back to their workplaces.”

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Lord of the Fries has been in a fight for survival for the past several years.

Hospitality venues across Australia are finding it similarly difficult to stay in business.

Just this week, news.com.au reported that a restaurant chain spanning across three Australian states, Botswana Butchery, had gone into administration with debts of more than $20 million. The administrators are recommending placing the businesses into liquidation.

Last month, after 18 years in business, Asian fusion restaurant Gingerboy shut down blaming “market pressures since Covid lockdowns”.

News.com.au also spoke to a hospitality insider who said he was deciding if he was going to liquidate his business in the next 48 hours because things were so dire.

A number of other restaurants have joined the growing pile of corpses, including Japanese chain Sushi Bay, Elements Bar and Grill and three stores in Sydney restaurant franchise Bondi Pizza.

Late last year, arm of major Victorian catering business, Legacy Hospitality Group, went bust with debts in excess of $1.7 million.

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