‘Sorry’ says family favourite food chain with 180 locations as it tells customers it will ‘sadly close’ restaurant

A FAMILY favourite food chain has closed yet another one of their branches.

Prezzo, the Italian restaurant chain, had announced that they were closing dozens of branches last year, but it seems they have now been forced to close even more.

Alamy

Hundreds of pubs and restaurants have disappeared from our high streets over the last year[/caption]

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Prezzo in Islington has said goodbye to its customers[/caption]

The branch in Islington closed without much fanfare, notifying former customers about the closure in a short message.

It read: “Sorry, Prezzo Islington has closed.”

The message went on to reiterate, very briefly, to their customers that the branch has now “sadly” been closed.

Before adding: “We do, however have 6 other locations across London so you can still experience the joy of Italian dining here at Prezzo.

“We hope to see you at one of our other beautiful restaurants very soon.”

Prezzo could not be reached for comment.

In April 2023, Prezzo announced that they would be closing 46 branches after they were hit hard by soaring costs post-pandemic.

The Islington branch was not among the dozens that they were planning to close – which included the Chichester, Tunbridge Wells, Oxford and Plymouth restaurants.

At the time, it was thought that an estimated 810 workers would be at risk of redundancy, although it is unclear what that number actually is now.

Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the high street and I’m extremely proud of the way our colleagues have retained Prezzo’s position as an appealing, trusted, great value food and drink experience.

“We believe the tough decisions we are making today will ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come.”

Prezzo fell into administration in late 2020 after the heavy impact of the pandemic.

It was then snapped up by current private equity owners Cain International.

Their initial closure plan, as unveiled last year, comes just two years after the group previously shut 22 restaurants and cut 216 jobs.

And, a handful of years prior to that, Prezzo was forced to shut 94 stores and axe an eye-watering 500 jobs.

Meanwhile, several major retailers, including Boots and Costa, have announced that they will also close some stores this month.

Boots is set to shut 300 shops over the next year, starting with the closure of their branch in Hough Lane, Leyland a few days ago.

The store on Wood Street in Swindon will close for the final time on Friday, February 9. While their store in Clifton, York will shut on Saturday, February 17.

The infamous coffee chain Costa has closed a dozen sites over the past year, and will be shutting their Chiswick High Road branch on February 6.

They will also be closing their branch in Edinburgh, Bruntsfield Place, on February 14.

Food and drink chains in general have been suffering in recent months as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.

Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.

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The Islington branch is one of dozens of Prezzos to have closed recently[/caption]