Tony Lo Terzo makes change to Braddon's The Italian Place Enoteca as deli sold, restaurant under administration

The providore and deli will be sold as the restaurant returns to a Trattoria dining style, owner Tony Lo Terzo told The Canberra Times.

"The Enoteca is not closing down! We have appointed a temporary administrator in the restaurant and have placed the Providore/Deli on the market for sale," Mr Lo Terzo said.

"We want to restructure, consolidate the business back to the original Trattoria, style and perhaps even introduce [pizza]."

The Italian Place Enoceta, which employs six full-time staff and about 10 casuals, went into voluntary administration on July 25.

Liquidator Frank Lo Pilato from RSM Australia estimates the business owes nearly $400,000 to 56 creditors.

This includes more than $234,000 to the Australian Taxation Office, nearly $160,000 to trade creditors and $5700 in employee entitlements.

Liquidators are confident that the restaurant can continue trading.

Mr Lo Terzo said that "both businesses are open and still holding good trade [despite] the general downturn".

Insolvencies are on the rise, with a 64 per cent increase in Canberra businesses going into liquidation in the last financial year.

Mr Lo Terzo and former Italian and Sons head chef Francesco Petrillo opened The Italian Place Enoteca in 2019. They have equal shares in the company, ASIC documents show.

Mr Lo Terza had worked in hospitality venues across the country, but his dream was to create a casual venue that brought Italy to Canberra.

He met Mr Petrillo while they worked at Italian and Sons, and the pair established The Italian Place Pty Ltd in 2018.

When the new Mort Street restaurant opened in 2019, it received glowing reviews.

Natasha Shan said she felt transported to Italy in the "rustic and homely" restaurant, which had a "laid-back feel and effortless charm".

It even made The Canberra Times food reviewer's 2019 top 10 restaurant list, where Kristen Lawson opined about "housemade pastas with pork ragu; or pesto; crumbed sardines [and] a beautiful simple salt cod whip".

However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the budding success to close only a year later, in March 2020.

Initially, there was a silver lining. The restaurant turned into a deli, offering takeaway meals during lockdown, and the success of the enterprise inspired Mr Lo Terzo to lease a neighbouring space in October.

In June 2021, the restaurant "became a victim of a worker place incident," a liquidator's report said this increased worker's compensation premiums.

Eventually, COVID restrictions eased, and while the restaurant could operate normally, trade didn't return to pre-pandemic levels.

The focus on the deli hurt Enoteca. A restaurant manager was hired in 2022, and bookings started to drop.

The liquidator's report said gross sales dropped by 25 per cent that year, while there was a 50 per cent increase in rent.

Large unpaid superannuation bills were suddenly due.

Other issues included staff shortages, increases in the cost of produce, an unmanageable wage bill, an inability to manage taxes and a lack of working capital.

However, Mr Lo Terzo has successfully reduced expenditure in the last year, and liquidators believe the restaurant should continue trading.

The company got better at managing expenses, making a net profit in the 2022-23 financial year.

Despite this, tax debt became unmanageable, and the ATO wouldn't put the business on a payment plan, so it entered voluntary administration.

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In good news for customers, Mr Lo Terzo told liquidators he plans to open the restaurant seven days a week and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It will also look at trading through Christmas and provide catering.

There will be a second creditors meeting on August 29 at 10am.

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