Rashays forced to close down popular restaurant – as owner makes a heartbreaking admission
The founder of the popular restaurant chain Rashays has had to close another location just two years after it opened.
Rami Ykmour, 49, who founded the chain in 1998, said he had to close his restaurant in Bundaberg, about 360 kilometres north of Brisbane, because of spiralling costs.
The news was announced on social media and on a sign on the door, informing customers that the store would close on July 1 “until further notice.”
“The cost of everything is going up,” Mr Ykmour told the Courier post.
“It puts so much pressure on us. We have to stop the bleeding.”
Mr Ykmour said there was still hope the restaurant could reopen with government support or if operating costs could be negotiated.
“The government is doing absolutely nothing to support small businesses,” he said.
Rami Ykmour, 49, who founded the chain in 1998, said soaring costs had forced him to close his restaurant in Bundaberg, about 360km north of Brisbane.
The outspoken founder of popular restaurant chain Rashays has been forced to close another location (pictured), just two years after it opened
The store officially closed just 24 hours earlier, on Monday, July 1 – just under two years after the store first opened in August 2022.
In May 2024, Rashays closed its Toowoomba store after Mr Ykmour had to defend the store against rumours that the food had been frozen.
The restaurant owner called the allegations “slander” and posted videos on social media to emphasize that the food was fresh.
The 49-year-old searched the shelves in the restaurant’s cold room and grabbed fresh, packaged food items including sauces, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, sausages, meat, chicken, vegetables and pasta.
“How did this freeze? When I heard the security guard say, ‘I’ve heard rumors that everything is frozen here,’ I just had to make this video,” Mr. Ykmour said.
The news that the Bundaberg restaurant had closed was announced on social media and on a sign on the door stating that the venue would be closed from July 1 ‘until further notice’
‘I didn’t organize the cool room… just to tell everybody, I hope you all hear me. The reason why I’m so passionate is because this is not my business, it’s my baby.
“May God forgive him that people are slandering my company in that way, and may God forgive you. I hope you heard me and that I can’t be more passionate and honest than that.”
In August 2023, Maroochydore restaurant Rashays announced it would close for renovations and never reopen.
In 2022, the Toombul site in Brisbane’s north-east was closed after it suffered severe water damage following flooding in the region.
Described as a relaxed, family-friendly eatery, Rashays has 34 locations across the east coast in Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria.