Restaurant ‘paused’ due to high costs
ON ANOTHER BUSINESS
A BUSINESSMAN has announced he is “pressing pause” on another one of his restaurants after admitting to “the most difficult few years”.
Norton restaurant Meet At 12 will cease restaurant operations with immediate effect after a spokesperson said the current financial climate has made it “unfeasible” for the team to continue.
The eatery apologised to loyal customers and said “providing for the community was at the heart of everything they do”.
This is the second shock closure of one of restaurant owner Barry Faulkner’s Norton businesses and comes just months after he announced he had closed his Italian-style restaurant Scrann in January.
In a statement he also addressed the challenges the hospitality industry is facing and news that two of his venues, including Meet At 12, have gone up for sale.
Just last month, Mr Faulkner’s restaurant and bar business Canteen and Cocktails on Norton High Street was listed for sale with commercial real estate agents Parker Barras for £900,000.
After announcing that restaurant trading would cease for Meet At 12, which opened on Harland Place in 2022, he confirmed that the venue would still be opening on Fridays and Saturdays “in the hope [they] can continue to showcase [the] space and focus on refining [its] offer to move forward.”
The eatery was initially opened as a “premier steak house, cocktail bar and roof terrace”.
In the statement, Mr Faulkner said: “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the closure of Meet At 12’s restaurant operations for the foreseeable future. These challenging times have undeniably taken a toll on the hospitality industry, and unfortunately, the current financial climate has made it unfeasible for us to continue regular restaurant operations.”
The businessman, who also owns The Scruffy Duck, Banh Mi Norton and The Middlesbrough Empire, said he was “heartbroken” by the decision but committed to “ensure the cultural success of Norton continues”.
He also addressed the potential sale of Canteen and Cocktails, also on the High Street, which opened in 2014 in the site of the former Co-op.
The statement continued: “Continued success does not come without some unfortunate sacrifice. It is no secret that we are potentially looking to sell one of our venues.
“It is heartbreaking for us that we may have to let another business go, following the closure of Scrann last year. Yet with rising costs, socioeconomic impacts and a change in attitudes – it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the success rate required, across the entirety of the group.
“Of course, the last thing we want to do is forego a business to a competitor but, with a heavy heart, we will make any tough decisions in the best interest of the group and the village. We want ensure the cultural success of Norton continues to prevail during these tough times.”