Aussie Gorilla Grill burger joint collapses – as Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock blames diners for inflation crisis

A fast food restaurant serving tower burgers collapsed due to lockdowns and now a cost of living crisis – as diners are blamed for Australia’s inflation challenge.

Melbourne’s Gorilla Grill went into administration this week after serving customers at Maribyrnong for almost a decade.

The joint served a King Kong burger with two beef patties and bacon, or a Custom King Kong burger with three beef patties and pork belly.

It was so popular that it had 10,000 followers on Facebook, and the menu also included kimchi fries, barbecue ribs and tacos.

Bankruptcies in Australia are almost double what they were a year ago, but the Reserve Bank continues to blame those who eat out for high consumer prices.

Liquidator Jeremy Abeyratne, who is also director of APL Insolvency, said this small business was a victim of Melbourne’s world record 262 days of lockdowns and subsequently rising inflation.

“The explanation they’ve largely given is that they’ve been struggling pretty much from the start of Covid,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

Melbourne’s Gorilla Grill went bankrupt this week after a decade of serving customers at Maribyrnong

“They kind of kept Covid going – it actually started to hit and things just got worse.”

Mr Abeyratne said the company, officially known as TVD Pty Ltd after its owner Tuong Dinh, hired him after he struggled to pay off $200,000 in debt.

“They probably held on longer than they should have,” he said.

‘They’ve reached a point where it can’t go on anymore.

‘There is a big Covid hangover.

“They’re not unusual in that respect, we’ve seen a lot of cases with those kinds of statements.”

Gorilla Grill, a husband-and-wife business, employed mostly casual workers and owed no staff wages after it closed its doors in April.

The cost of living crisis has led to a sharp increase in business bankruptcies. Australian Securities and Investments Commission data shows there were 906 bankruptcies in October 2023, almost double the number of companies under external administration (473) in October 2022.

Mr Abeyratne, a chartered accountant who has worked in insolvency since 2000, said demand for his services had increased dramatically in 2023.

The Reserve Bank this month raised interest rates for the 13th time in 18 months, taking the cash rate to a 12-year high of 4.35 percent.

“When you get out, you have inflation that is only more difficult,” Mr Abeyratne said.

‘You have to deal with your debts and if a company cannot pay, you talk to a trustee.’

New Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock on Wednesday night blamed spending on services such as dining out for Australia’s cost of living, with inflation still too high at 5.4 per cent.

After New Zealand, Australia has the highest inflation rate in the OECD, despite borrowers facing the most severe monetary policy tightening since 1989.

Liquidator Jeremy Abeyratne, who is also director of APL Insolvency, said the small business was a victim of Melbourne’s world record 262 days of lockdowns and subsequently rising inflation.

“Inflation is driven by domestic demand… and increasingly supported by services,” Ms Bullock said.

‘Hairdressers and dentists, eating out, sports and other recreational activities – the prices of all these services are rising sharply.

“This reflects domestic economic conditions and is an indication that aggregate demand is sufficiently greater than aggregate supply to support these price increases.”

Ms Bullock earned $828,313 as deputy governor and would now receive a pay package of $1.1 million, based on her predecessor Philip Lowe’s salary at super.

The joint served a King Kong burger with two beef patties and bacon, or a Custom King Kong burger (pictured) with three beef patties and pork belly