Is the High Road Restaurant Trade in Crisis?

Warning of more closures ahead after spate of venues shutting

'Secret' plans for new restaurant at former Perfect Pizza site

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February 11, 2024

Is the High Road Restaurant Trade in Crisis?

Warning of more closures ahead after spate of venues shutting

The state of the Chiswick restaurant sector has come under the spotlight with a number of venues having closed already this year and a widespread expectation that more will follow.

In recent weeks Crepe Affaire, Mitsuryu and the pizza and wine bar launched by The Italians have closed.

Restaurant owners in the area say that they are faced with a host of problems that are making trading more difficult including staff costs and recruitment issues, high energy bills and rents and the looming increase in business rates. Some also believe the number of people going out to eat in the area is falling due to the economic situation and problems with parking.

However, many of those at the coal face dismiss suggestions of a crisis, pointed to the inherent strengths that the hospitality sector in W4 enjoys particularly a large local customer base.

There are likely to be unique issues behind each restaurant closure, for instance the departure of Mitsuryu may have been hastened by the opening of the Sushi Co offering a similar product just two doors down.

So Noodle set to take over former Mitsuryu premises

This unit at 316 Chiswick High Road was last advertised at a rent of £65,000 and has been quickly taken up by So Noodle. It is not clear whether this is a completely new owner or if there has simply been a rebranding.

Crepe Affaire closed suddenly a few weeks ago. The chain is run as a franchise operation and the company did not respond when we asked about the future of the local branch but recently a foreclosure notice has appeared in window at 382 Chiswick High Road.

A foreclosure notice has appeared in the window of Crepe Affaire

Perhaps a bigger surprise and disappointment for many was the closure of the pizza and wine bar opened by The Italians less than two years ago at 460 Chiswick High Road. The group had previously had issues recruiting a pizza chef, but these appeared to have been resolved with the launch of this new venture. We have contacted them to ask about the reasons for the closure and await a response.

The Italians closed its pizza and wine bar after just less than two years

The news in this western stretch of Chiswick High Road may not be all doom and gloom. An application has been submitted for 299 Chiswick High Road, the former site of Perfect Pizza for a new restaurant there by the same people who owned Republic restaurant. This high-end Indian restaurant closed last year but it is not known whether it is intended to knock the two units together to create a larger dining space. The applicant said that the type of food to be served at the new restaurant remained ‘a secret’ at this stage.

One ‘closure’ that does perhaps give cause for more optimism is that of Sam’s Larder on Turnham Green Terrace. Despite the fears of some fans of the venue, this does not represent the departure of the Sam Harrison venue and he remains upbeat about the local dining scene.

He said, “I am actually rather optimistic about the rest of this year. It is certainly tough trading for the industry at the moment, but I believe there will always be a demand for a quality and well-priced offerings. This is linked to why we are making changes on TGT and I am really excited about this.”

More information about what is happening at this site is likely to be released soon.

Another local restaurant owner was also anxious to stress the positives. He said, “It is important to first of all to remember Chiswick’s advantages which I believe are the key reason why we continue to have such a vibrant sector of high quality independent restaurants. The most important is a constituency of local people who regularly eat out and appreciate quality dining at fair prices and it is why our area has a much better offering than neighbouring postcodes such as Ealing. These loyal customers cover my rent, rates and salaries and enable us to survive. Making a living out of a restaurant depends on attracting more people who don’t eat out regularly or are from outside the area. The internet is a double-edged sword in this regard, there are far too many people willing to eat over-priced mediocrity made in sweatshop kitchens ordered on food apps, but good online feedback brings in lots of diners to us. Parking and access definitely is a concern because Chiswick is building a reputation as a place which is difficult to get to and where it is difficult to park. Diners who drive make up a small proportion of my revenue but a huge proportion of my profits and fewer are coming than in the past because of perceived inconvenience.”

A local business person involved in the letting of properties including to the restaurant sector said, “A good established independent restaurant is a dream tenant particularly if you have other units in the surrounding area and landlords bend over backwards to keep them, demonstrating this during the pandemic. A good restaurant raises the lettability of locale. However, things haven’t returned to the way they were before 2020, with a whole range of new challenges. Under normal circumstances this should have resulted in a fall in rents to reduce some of the overall pressure but vacant units are being offered on a ‘suck it and see’ basis for what essentially are pop-ups and there is increasing demand from businesses whose proposition seems basically uneconomic and don’t seem too bothered about paying high rents. It is hard to dismiss the suspicion that a proportion of this demand is related to money laundering but it is the HMRC’s job to police this, not agents and landlords. My view is that 2024 will deliver some surprise closures of well-loved establishments which will be a crying shame.”

A common theme emphasised by many involved in the local restaurant trade was the ‘use it or lose it’ principle. If you have a favourite place in Chiswick, the best way to ensure its survival is to eat there.