Restaurants face uncertainty
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is closing six of his restaurants in the UK, leaving plans for a New Zealand eatery hanging in the balance.
The world-renowned cook intended to open his first Kiwi restaurant in Wellington last year, but plans were abandoned after the Australian operator of Jamie’s Italian restaurants went into receivership.
Now, seven months on, Oliver has decided to close five Jamie’s Italian restaurants in England and one in Scotland by the end of the first quarter of this year, The Guardian reports.
However, it remains unclear whether the closures will affect the opening of a New Zealand restaurant.
Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group chief executive Simon Blagden told The Guardian: ‘‘As every restaurant owner knows, this is a tough market and post-Brexit the pressures and unknowns have made it even harder.’’
A combination of high costs for ingredients, staff training and lower footfall had forced the restaurant closures, Blagden said.
‘‘Because we refuse to compromise on the quality and provenance of our ingredients and our commitment to training and developing our staff, we need restaurants that can serve an average of 3000 covers (diners) every week to be sustainable.’’
The six restaurants accounted for less than 5 per cent of the chain’s total turnover, and overall the chain continued to perform well at home and abroad, he said.
In November last year, Oliver said opening in New Zealand would be a priority ‘‘because we really want to be there. I love Wellington, it’s one of my favourite places’’.