business yesterday, shut down because owner Anton Duzevic was unable to pay rent.

Mr. Duzevic, who had battled closure by court order for almost a year, held back his tears as he stood outside the chained and padlocked gate of the restaurant, located near the corner of Burnaby and Church streets.

He vowed to carry on the fight to resurrect Romanoff, even though the company owes landlord The Imperial Hotel Co. Ltd. about $85,000 in back rent. The company owes other creditors another $200,000.

Last month Supreme Court Chief Justice Austin Ward apppointed the Official Receiver, a post held by the office of the Registrar of Companies, to look into the affairs of the company. He allowed it to continue operating but said it must also come up with one month's rent of $10,500.

Yesterday the company failed to meet the deadline for paying its rent, and the Official Receiver closed it down. Lawyer Ian Kawaley, acting for Romanoff, said Mr. Duzevic had decided he didn't want to rack up any more debts. He would now meet with creditors to discuss its future.

"The Official Receiver has decided it was in the best interest of creditors for the restaurant to be closed for an indefinite period while the principal of the company liaised with him and the company's creditors to see whether Romanoff's can continue as a viable concern,'' Mr. Kawaley said. "We hope that we will be able to obtain some financial backing to enable the company to continue.'' Mr. Kawaley said Romanoff was filing a counterclaim to the liquidation writ by Imperial Hotel. Mr. Duzevic claims that Imperial Hotel had harmed his business by failing to upkeep the premises. Mr. Duzevic has claimed in the past that he has been overcharged for utilities during the 14 years the business was in operation.

Yesterday he said he was seeking $9 million in damages. He also claims Imperial Hotel is illegaly set up under Bermuda's company rules which prevents foreigners from owning more than 40 percent of local companies. Imperial's owners include Rolf and Loni Wittich, Hilda Aitken, Gordon Howard and Norman Holbrow.