Adelaide restaurateur’s venue collapses owing millions
An Adelaide hospitality operator has wound up one of his companies, leaving a trail of unpaid wages, superannuation and tax debts — and just $114 in the bank.
Nicholas Llewellyn’s The Clean Kitchen Pty Ltd was placed into liquidation on 3 July, owing more than $600,000 in unpaid superannuation to staff and $1.32 million to the Australian Taxation Office. The total debt tops $2 million, with accounting firm Perks also listed as a creditor.
The collapse came just weeks before the South Australian Employment Tribunal fined Llewellyn and the company $55,000 for underpaying a worker on a student visa. The fine will go directly to Thi an Trinh, who the tribunal found was not paid wages or superannuation — nor given payslips — for a month’s work in April 2024.
Tribunal deputy president Stephen Lieschke said Llewellyn was “knowingly involved” in Fair Work Act breaches, calling his conduct “part of a systemic pattern.”
It’s not the first time one of his ventures has folded. Another Llewellyn business, LACC Pty Ltd (LA Catering Co), went into liquidation in 2019 after losing two major contracts.
Other suppliers say they are still chasing smaller debts. “He said he’ll pay, but then he ghosts you,” one events hire business owner told The Advertiser. “We’ve been chasing it since January and have gone to debt collectors.”
Chef Bikal Adhikari, who worked in a Llewellyn-run kitchen for four months, said he was often paid late and relied on his wife’s income to cover expenses. “It was very hard not getting paid and my wife was very angry,” he said.
“She was working seven days a week to keep up with expenses.”
Jonathan Jackson, 11th August 2025
