TV chef’s gastropub is closed by the recession

TELEVISION chef Antony Worrall Thompson has been forced to close one of his gastropubs in Berkshire because of the credit crunch.

On the AWT restaurant group website today a message said the Greyhound in Rotherfield Peppard near Henley-on-Thames went out of business "due to the current economic climate".

Mr Worrall Thompson sacked 16 staff with immediate effect on Sunday. He told them he had battled to keep the restaurant at the 17th century country pub afloat for five years and had
invested about £200,000.

He blamed a sudden drop in bookings during the downturn for the closure, saying he had struggled to pay the rent. He said: "These are extreme times. We are in a recession.

"I have applied to the landlord twice to lower the rent but he wouldn't budge. I have taken advice and have been told the rent is probably double what it should be in the current climate."

He said: "It has gone back to being like the Seventies. We had a busy Saturday and Sunday but the business during the week had dropped right off."

Mr Worrall Thompson hopes the move will secure the future of his other restaurants — the Lamb at Satwell near Henley, the Kew Grill, the Barnes Grill, the Notting Grill in London and the Windsor Grill.

He added: "It is a lovely little pub and I am sure someone else will snap it up. I hate to see local pubs closing."