The restaurants are owned by Huy Viet Nam Group, which also owns Com Tho Chay, Great Banh Mi & Cafe, TP Tea, 99 House of Pho, Mi Quang Bep Tam, Shilla Korean BBQ, Iki Sushi, Captain Lobster and Soi 615.
On October 22, Zing reported that all Saigon locations of Mon Hue, a restaurant franchise that specializes in central Vietnamese food, closed down without any explanation. Pho Ong Hung, a franchise under the same company, also closed some of its locations in the city.
During the two days following the Mon Hue closure, hundreds of the chain's suppliers gathered in front of Huy Viet Nam's headquarters with banners to protest the company's failure to pay them. Most of these people, according to Thanh Nien, are supply the chain's beef, pork, noodles, ice, herbs, vegetables, banana leaves and coconut milk. These suppliers also went to the District 1 police department to submit official letters of complaint, though they were turned away as this isn't considered a criminal matter yet.
Some of the suppliers said that the company hasn't paid them since April this year. On October 20, they received the announcement that all of Huy Viet Nam’s purchasing staff had left their jobs and that all Mon Hue restaurants would close. The estimated total debt that the company owes 28 of its suppliers is VND20 billion, Zing reports. There are more than 100 suppliers who claim that Mon Hue owes them money.
Mon Hue’s employees have informed news sources that the company has also failed to pay their salary. One Mon Hue staffer told Zing that they are owed two months' worth of salary. On the morning of October 22, several employees went to the company's headquarter's to ask for their pay, and they claimed that they had only received 30% of their September salary.
Mon Hue also failed to pay their taxes in the third quarter, said the District 1 Tax Department. The total tax debt of all Mon Hue restaurants has reached hundreds of millions of dong. Thus, the District 1 and District 3 tax departments are taking collection action against the franchise.
The municipal tax department has also said they will seize Mon Hue’s assets. VnExpress reports that the franchise has been operating at a financial loss since 2016. By the end of 2018, the accounted losses on their income statement reached VND107 billion.
At the time of writing, the websites of all Huy Viet Nam brands are inaccessible, and the company's management board is nowhere to be found.
[Photo via Vienvong]
