Celebrity chef Derry Clarke insists restaurant business in Dublin is no longer sustainable
His comments come in the wake of Dylan McGrath announcing the closure of two of his restaurants in the capital with immediate effect
Celebrity chef Derry Clarke insisted the restaurant business in Dublin is no longer sustainable.
His comments come in the wake of Dylan McGrath announcing the closure of two of his restaurants in the capital with immediate effect.
Dylan, who was a judge on the Irish version of Masterchef, revealed on Thursday the shutting of Brasserie Sixty6 and Rustic Stone in the city centre. However, Fade Street Social will remain open.
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Derry, who closed his successful L’Ecrivain restaurant off Baggot four years ago said Dublin is too pricey. Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror Derry, 66, said: “I agree with Dylan running a restaurant in Dublin is not sustainable.
“The overheads are so high. When we closed up L’Ecrivain the overheads were so high. Every month the bills just kept coming and we felt it, it’s why we really closed too.
“It’s the way things are, a lot of factors involved, it’s expensive. I’m lucky we’ve been closed for four years. We’re out four years and I’m happy we’re not doing business.”
He added that crippling rents and overheads are forcing good businesses out of the city. He said: “A lot of my colleagues are saying how hard it is. Restaurants have everything going into them, labour costs, rent, rates, energy costs and VAT at 13.5 per cent which is really difficult.
“If you think one in 10 people are employed by the hospitality industry, so 10 per cent are employed. I know a lot of it is seasonal work and lots of kids work in it. But it’s good for tourism too and needs help to stay alive.”
He said McGrath, who made history by becoming the youngest Irish chef to be awarded a coveted Michelin star in 2008, runs his business like clockwork. He added: “You don’t see restaurants like that closing, they’re well run.
“Dylan McGrath is an experienced chef and restaurateur. That’s not a place being badly run. That’s a place that can’t keep going because of other factors.”
Derry, who began running the Club at Goffs in Naas, Co Kildare, two years ago added that Dublin has changed. He said: “I don’t go into town, but I really feel it’s changed, that’s a feeling I get from people who are in there.
“It’s saying a lot when a Michelin star chef like Dylan McGrath has to close down, these aren’t new restaurants, they are going a long time.
“They were busy, popular and successful as is he. I really do feel for him though, it’s a tough time, to close something you’ve built up, your dreams are involved in it and memories and suddenly you have to close it for factors outside your control. I feel I got out on time with L’Ecrivain, by luck really.”
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