Rose leaves thorns after liquidation
Founded by Ahmed Zaoui in 2010, Desert Rose was a food truck that regularly set up shop in the central city.
A restaurant that stemmed from a food truck started by asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui has left debts of more than $40,000 after folding.
Desert Rose Cafe & Restaurant, on the corner of Rangitikei and Cuba streets in Palmerston North, shut up shop during the Christmas break.
Founded by Zaoui in 2010, Desert Rose was a food truck that regularly set up shop in the central city.
The food truck was bought by Salih Osman in 2012 when Zaoui moved to Auckland, and was transformed into a large restaurant.
The reasons for closure were a mystery at first, with a note on Facebook simply wishing customers a happy New Year.
But a note on the door said the lease had been ended by the building owner, and the company’s liquidators said the restaurant had suffered from a lack of patrons.
The liquidation ended in March, with CS Insolvency saying in a report there would be no more cash for creditors.
The final report makes mention of Osman making advances and loans from Desert Rose to an associated company that ran a restaurant in Auckland. ‘‘Advances to the associated company appear to have been consumed in trying to keep the Auckland business going.’’
But the Auckland restaurant, which is not named in the report, has also closed, and the liquidators did not think it was practical to chase Osman for money.
Desert Rose was unable to pay $9821 to secured creditors, while unsecured creditors were $33,935 out of pocket, the report said.
Efforts to contact Osman to discuss the closure have been unsuccessful.
A new Mediterranean restaurant has already opened in Desert Rose’s place.
The closure of Desert Rose adds to the site’s chequered history. It was home to Rockz, a karaoke bar that struggled to open due to police opposing a liquor licence. Rockz closed in 2013 when owner Eric Southee fell ill. Before then, it had been home to Piazza, a restaurant that never served the public, despite being fully furnished.