Top TV chef Tom Kerridge to close beloved Chelsea bar & grill in DAYS as heartbreaking decision revealed
TOP TV chef Tom Kerridge’s swanky West London restaurant is set to close within days after he announced the “heartbreaking” decision.
Tom’s Butcher’s Tap & Grill in Chelsea will serve its last customers on June 1.
The London branch opened two years ago, following the success of their first restaurant in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which launched in 2017.
A spokesperson for the bar & grill revealed that rising costs and a decrease in demand led to Tom’s decision to shut up shop for good.
They said: “Increasing costs demand a match in revenue and turnover that has not materialised at the site, providing an opportunity to regroup, rethink and rebuild.
“Tom and his colleagues are hugely appreciative of guests who have created brilliant memories since opening and an incredible team, whose future remains secure within the group in place for what’s next.”
The restaurant owner still operates two London sites – Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at the Corinthia Hotel, opened in 2018, and Kerridge’s Fish & Chips at Harrods, launched in 2021.
Earlier this year, Tom expressed concerns about the pressures facing both the industry and his restaurants.
He told The Carterer: “People aren’t earning loads of money out of it.”
It comes after the Michelin-star chef claimed elderly people struggling to afford their heating should visit their local pub to stay warm.
The 50-year-old said a trip to the boozer can also help tackle loneliness and raise a smile.
Tom explained: “Pubs are so intrinsic and so important to our society.
“A posh pub in Chelsea will have a community feel. But even pubs on little council estates where we grew up, they’re hubs, they’re spaces.”
“It’s top money for beer and it’s expensive for steaks, but it still will have a community about it.
“Now, when there’s a cost of living crisis, when there are places where people can’t afford to put their heating on throughout the day.”
Referring to an advert for a pub in Ireland where a lonely old man makes friends with a young couple over a drink, Tom added: “You talk about the old man in the advert. Well actually, if he’s not going to put on his heating in the day, he can spend that time in the pub, with locals, friendly, staying warm, conversation.”
Tom, who owns the Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers gastropub in Marlow, Bucks, added: “Human interaction is so vitally important to our everyday lives, and pubs provide that more than anywhere else.
“They’re so, so important and they are also places of fun that service a need.”
Tom admitted he “wasn’t a big Wetherspoons fan” but admired the chain’s model of opening for breakfast through until dinner.
