Fatburger restaurant gamble ‘did not pay off’

A RESTAURANT owner has admitted he “took a gamble which didn’t pay off” after his business was closed after less than 12 months.

Fatburger on Reform Street closed for the last time on Sunday, having only opened in January this year.

Owner Akky Hayat admitted the closure had been on the cards for some time but he had kept it running for as long as possible for the sake of his staff.

Akky, who would not confirm how many staff members had been laid off, said he was disappointed to shut the business down.

He said a lack of customers on the high street and a lack of money to spend in the city was behind his decision.

Akky said: “We started off with high hopes and great expectations. We had a lot of confidence that the restaurant would be successful and I invested a lot of money in it.

“Basically I took a gamble which I hoped would pay off but sadly it hasn’t.

“We realised several months ago that things weren’t going too well but we kept going as long as possible. We lowered the prices to less than other burger chains of the same type but even that didn’t work.

“There’s not enough people living in Dundee to support all the restaurants that the city has and we are not the only ones that have had to close our doors recently.

“Sadly it’s a sign of the times that businesses like that are not working in Dundee.”

Akky, who owns the building the restaurant was in, said he will put the premises on the open market.

He said: “We will either sell the business or I would like to try to lease the building to another business but I would want to be very confident that whatever went in had a good chance of working out.”

Akky owns German Doner Kebab on Reform Street and his family are also behind the Hayat store in Happyhillock.

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Fatburger on Reform Street has closed after less than a year.