Celeb chef warns of restaurant closures
Celebrity food writer and restaurateur Domini Kemp has warned of more closures in the food retail sector.
Ms Kemp, who co-owns the Itsa food group, said that rising food prices coupled with Vat and wage increases are going to put significant pressure on small independent traders.
Ms Kemp was commenting days after the high profile closure of Fallon and Byrne’s Rathmines food-hall and restaurant business, in Dublin, and she forecast “more will follow.” The Itsa business has been operating for over 20 years and today operates four brands across 12 outlets.
Newly-filed abridged accounts for the company show that the business recorded post-tax profits of €96,071 in the 12 months to the end of February last.
"The last two years have been tough but we are really pleased with the changes we have made. We have formally taken over Hatch & Sons and Peaches [her sister] and I are now the sole owners and directors of the group which will make 2020 a very exciting year for both of us, personally and professionally," she said.
At the end of last year, the group employed 150 people and Ms Kemp said: “We will continue to grow.
As the sole owners of the business we are excited about the future and look forward to continued growth and new opportunities - we are currently working on two very exciting projects for 2020/21.
"Business remains challenging - margins are compounded by increases in rents, rates, pressure on wages as we've reached "full employment" and increases in food costs with pork prices surging last year - plus the Vat hike. Not all these costs get passed onto consumers who remain very price sensitive," she said.
